Ansley Skipper
@ansleyskipper.bsky.social
Associate producer @thebulwark.com. Fmr comms @protectdemocracy.org + Kaine for Virginia.
@timmiller.bsky.social and @ansleyskipper.bsky.social test how much political news made it through Tim’s vacation bubble, from Trump’s White House correspondents’ dinner insults and the Fauci diaries to Canada tariffs, RFK Jr.’s cooking show, and a bizarre lettuce-recall controversy.
Yes, this is the single best insider story I've read about the Democrats' strategic and tactical mistakes (and what has started to work).
Jill Lawrence@jilldlawrence.bsky.social · 3mo agoToday's long-read recommendation. If you're a political obsessive like me, you'll probably do what I did: read every word (and there are thousands). One big takeaway for me: the political significance of YouTube. (I'm old, but you probably already knew that 🙂). www.thebulwark.com/p/heres-what...
At CPAC last week, now-Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche bragged about gutting the DOJ and FBI and firing hundreds. “There isn’t a single man or woman with a gun, federal agent, still in [the FBI] that had anything to do with the prosecution of President Trump."
Just got word that my friend Shane DiGiovanna passed away. Shane was an OG Bulwark reader whom I got to know shortly after moving to Cincinnati. He was quite a person. 🧵
@jamestalarico.bsky.social has FINALLY addressed those vegan accusations! Watch his interview on the Bulwark Podcast with @timmiller.bsky.social from last night’s live show in Dallas right now if you're a Bulwark+ subscriber!
Authoritarians have long used international sports to promote their own supposed “strength.” Ours may even try to claim gold medals for himself. But history shows we can boo him while still cheering on our athletes. My latest with @michaelangeloni.bsky.com www.thebulwark.com/p/lets-not-s...
Let’s Not Sportswash Trump’s Authoritarianism
The Olympics, the World Cup, and cheering for our nation’s athletes but not the current administration.
thebulwark.com
State and local officials, Congress, and the public have the power to defeat the 3-headed monster coming for our elections. Here’s how we can stop the administration’s election interference plan: https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/trumps-elections-chimera
"How does one cheer for Team USA’s premier athletes when America is in the grips of an authoritarian attempting to entrench himself in power?" Protect Democracy’s @jonsteinman.bsky.social and @michaelangeloni.bsky.social for @thebulwark.com ahead of tonight’s Winter Olympics opening ceremonies.
Let’s Not Sportswash Trump’s Authoritarianism
The Olympics, the World Cup, and cheering for our nation’s athletes but not the current administration.
thebulwark.com
Trump is forcing Americans to think like dissidents. This is largely new for us.
Let’s Not Sportswash Trump’s Authoritarianism
The Olympics, the World Cup, and cheering for our nation’s athletes but not the current administration.
lnk.thebulwark.com
Don’t be fooled. The policy architecture that the administration has built to exploit immigration concerns, deploy federal agents, sideline critics, and tilt the electoral playing field in its favor is still fully intact. Especially in Minnesota. From me. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/personnel-...
Personnel shuffles, not policy shifts in Minnesota
Trump’s not ditching the authoritarian playbook
ifyoucankeepit.org
What does ICE have to do w/ the midterms? Trump wants to treat dissenters like terrorists. They did it to Renee Good. This is the environment shaping the midterms. If we don't keep our free speech now, we won't have free elections later. From me. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/free-speec...
Free speech, ICE, and free elections in 2026
More than immigration enforcement and protest suppression
ifyoucankeepit.org
i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals
From a clergy member friend of a friend. It is hard to believe that this is happening in America. What a moral outrage.
What does the Insurrection Act do and *not* do? @amandacarpenter.bsky.social and @rlullo.bsky.social cover what you need to know:
What Trump can and can’t do with the Insurrection Act
Demystifying the most ominous law in America
ifyoucankeepit.org
When I was coming of age, the American Left was for human rights in three countries, primarily (and almost exclusively): Chile, the Philippines, and South Africa. Today, the American Right has Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran. Great. But blessed are those who favor human rights for all.
Maybe not an accident that these are the two states rushing quickest to pass a universal constitutional remedies act protectdemocracy.org/work/univers...
The Universal Constitutional Remedies Act, explained
The Universal Constitutional Remedies Act is a state law that allows individuals to sue any official — federal, state, or local — who violates the Constitution in court.
protectdemocracy.org
makena kelly@makenakelly.bsky.social · 7mo agoNEW: Minnesota Is Just the Beginning. California and New York Are ‘Next,' according to a senior White House official. more from me + @leahfeiger.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/califo...
My piece on a wave of proposals at state & federal level (@chrismurphyct.bsky.social, @governor.ny.gov, @crow.house.gov, @scottwiener.bsky.social) that all do the same thing: simply empower Americans to enforce the rights they are already supposed to have. www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/a-grand-un...
A grand unified strategy to uphold the Constitution
A wave of proposals to strengthen the tools, not the rules
ifyoucankeepit.org
Here's why "Clemency for Tina Peters endangers us all" by me and my colleague @protectdemocracy.org, just published in the @denverpost.com. LSS: "Acquiescence today only invites future harassment" @colorado.gov www.denverpost.com/2026/01/15/t...
Clemency for Tina Peters endangers us all (Opinion)
Governor Polis has cited humanitarian reasons for possibly granting clemency to convicted felon, Tina Peters. If he were to do so, his good intentions today would invite terrible outcomes for Color…
denverpost.com
Trump is trying to take over the Fed and other independent policymaking institutions, following in the footsteps other autocrats around the world. But the consequences have been disastrous for the average citizen. Read more in our briefing, "We can’t afford autocracy" https://protdem.org/4byMD5g
History has shown that autocrats wreck economies by destroying independent economic policymaking, writes @ansleyskipper.bsky.social. Now, in going after Fed chair Jerome Powell, Trump threatens to take the U.S. down that same road to ruin. https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/we-cant-afford-autocracy
The “prosecute the former regime at every level” candidate has my vote in 2028.
Good journalism under authoritarianism: 1. stay away from “debate“ and “controversy” 2. don’t treat “official said x“ as a story in itself 3. call obvious lies what they are (or avoid them altogether) 4. center facts, not assertions
Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 7mo agoIf the headline is "disputed shooting" rather than straightforwardly telling the public what happened this rewards the DHS for lying about these events
This year our country and We, the People, have faced numerous trials and tribulations that will each serve as lessons for the years ahead. Read @ansleyskipper.bsky.social's recap of the 11 of the most important moments of 2025 here: https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/how-our-democracy-survived-2025
I wrote about this dynamic back in July and, honestly, politicizing the DOJ has blown up in Trump's face even more than I anticipated: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/maga-disco...
MAGA discovers the downsides of a politicized DOJ
Jeffrey Epstein, trust, and the death of independent law enforcement
ifyoucankeepit.org
As it turns out, when you turn a well-respected law enforcement agency into a personal goon squad, *everyone* quickly stops believing their claims. Who knew?
Want to learn more about how proportional representation is the simple and achievable solution? @ansleyskipper.bsky.social and Drew Penrose explain how we can make gerrymandering disappear: www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/how-to-end...
How to end the forever redistricting wars
Gerrymandering is made possible by this one choice
ifyoucankeepit.org
