Seth Masket

2 weeks ago | smotus.substack.com | Seth Masket

I’m recently back from a very good conference of the Midwest Political Science Association conference in Chicago, where I attended and participated in a number of pretty timely panels and conversations about the state of U.S. democracy and higher education. I’ll probably have a lot to say about these in the coming days. But one question I heard a few times there was, should the Democratic Party be pivoting to the left or to the center right now? Tusk is a reader-supported publication.

1 month ago | smotus.substack.com | Seth Masket |John Ganz

Yesterday’s stunning exchange between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled a blatant, predictable-but-shocking U.S. alliance with Russia and support for its invasion of Ukraine, and earned the U.S. widespread reprobation from Europe and Canada. It’s not a particularly popular move in the U.S., either. So it’s worth pausing at this point to ask, why did Trump do it? Just what is it with Trump and Russia? Tusk is a reader-supported publication.

2 months ago | smotus.substack.com | Seth Masket

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2 months ago | smotus.substack.com | Seth Masket

Friday was a busy day in national politics, with the media fixated on two plane crashes, a tariff order that sparked vows of retaliation and a stock market selloff, embarrassing Senate confirmation hearings for a number cabinet appointees, and more. But we need to talk about the massive assault on democracy and the rule of law that occurred this day. It occurred across several steps. Tusk is a reader-supported publication.

Jan 5, 2025 | smotus.substack.com | Seth Masket

Jonathan Weisman’s substantial New York Times piece “How Democrats Lost the Working Class” is important and I commend it to your attention. But there are a few key points about US politics that one should recognize before digging into the article:A substantial chunk — let’s say 90% — of the story about the working class leaving the Democratic Party over the past 50 years is a story about race.