How is it that we can be a technologically advanced civilization capable of placing robots on Mars, but we are still spending $80 million on hand-carving crustaceans out of voters to preserve the 15th-century technology of single-member districts?
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/u...
Yes.
"Someday, we will probably have proportional representation in the states and/or Congress, and all of this will look silly and antiquated."
You may have noticed: American politicians are really old. You, and everyone else who follows American politics.
But you may not know that American politicians are exceptionally old compared to other democracies.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/why-americ...
Imagine if the $83M+ spent on this silly VA gerrymandering doom loop escalation instead went to support advocacy for proportional representation that would make gerrymandering obsolete.
www.axios.com/local/richmo...
What we’re reading: @leedrutman.bsky.social’s piece gives us hope. He argues that by changing how the parties work, the coming era can be more than a rebound for our country — it can be a rebirth and renewal. Read how ⬇️
Great piece by @leedrutman.bsky.social breaking down what works and what doesn't work for electoral reform. In particular, a common misconception about jungle primary / top two systems. Empirically, they simply don't deliver the benefits claimed.
This is an interesting piece, and I agree with most of it, but it misses some of the basics for what the national parties can do to provide positive reforms to the parties
A thread from my experience as a political scientist w/expertise on parties and a county party chair:
Another reminder that there is a huge opening for swing-state/district candidates in '26 who say they want to break the Two-Party Doom Loop and give Americans more choices.
www.cnn.com/2026/04/03/p...
My book Coverage Denied: How Health Insurers Drive Inequality in the United States hits shelves this month!
It is available for preorder with @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org www.cambridge.org/core/books/c... and the various other sites.
It's been a labor of love that I hope improves health care.
After years of research, Daphna Renan & I are thrilled to announce preorders of SUPREMACY. Why is US democracy so broken? One reason is we've wrongly accepted that 9 justices have the final say over the Constitution. This book traces how that happened—& how we can reclaim power to govern ourselves.
Democrats are facing a 2032 problem. Edsall is right. But it's not going to be solved by moving to the center. Josh is right. This is becoming self-parody
The problem can only be solved by electoral reforms that break the zero-sum two-party binary. leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-democr...
Political parties are essential to democracy—but in the U.S., they’re struggling to do their most basic jobs. Our NEW REPORT explores what’s gone wrong, and how a diverse set of experts think we can fix it. www.newamerica.org/insights/a-b...
New piece makes the case: our rigid two-party system isn’t inevitable—it’s the product of rules. Reforms like fusion voting can open the door to new parties, stronger coalitions, and voter choice. @leedrutman.bsky.social @newamerica.org @politicalreform.newamerica.org substack.com/home/post/p-...
it's working so well, that top 2 primary. (j/k -- it's a mess!) and it hasn't exactly solved polarization in CA.
The negativity engine of modern media, the calcified electorate, the steady hum of brokenness and perpetual desire for something different: these are structural forces that grind down support for governing parties, no matter how they govern.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-democr...
Q: How can Governor Spanberger be a real leader here?
A: She can say the time has come for America to move beyond the single-member district, that flawed and antiquated mode of representation that enables gerrymandering.
It's time for PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION.
www.politico.com/news/2026/03...
Sadly, this only works until Democrats win back power, and then public opinion will turn against them on this issue. As predictable as the stars. leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-democr...
Democrats need to understand if they win in 2026 it is not because Democrats are resurgent. It is because Trump is f*!king awful. Ds made that mistake once already. They must not make the same mistake twice.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-democr...
This feels like a pretty significant development that's not likely to reverse.
These are the answers you’re looking for to restore America. @leedrutman.bsky.social has this exactly right. We are doomed to continue oscillating in a “take turns losing” system, or we can break the loop by changing the rules. Must read. Must do. open.substack.com/pub/leedrutm...
The doom loop doesn’t just repeat. It spirals. Each cycle, the maps get more aggressive, the guardrails get thinner, the electorate gets more calcified. Redesign is possible, if we start now. After 2031, eulogy may displace strategy.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-democr...
Imagine if Gov. Spanberger used this crisis as an opportunity to call for peace in the gerrymandering wars by supporting proportional representation!
IMAGINE!
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Democrats keep winning special elections because the other party is in the White House.
This is the most predictable pattern in politics.
But if Democrats think it's a vote of confidence for them, they have a nasty surprise coming soon.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-democr...
This is a sharp, solutions-oriented strategy for rebuilding America if — when! — we defeat the current fascism. The two-party system is not remotely suited to our era of epistemic chaos. It’s time for multiparty coalitions.
"The cost of ruling," is a concept I wasn't familiar with before this sharp @leedrutman.bsky.social piece. But it explains the midterm effect (party in power always loses.) And it creates a real urgency for Dems if they have a trifecta in 2029. leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-democr...
This argument from @leedrutman.bsky.social is exceptionally important.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-democr...
non-citizen voting is about as common in the US as a 15-fingered man.
"You don’t fix a structural problem with better messaging. You fix a structural problem with a structural solution."
Again, the <platform> must be institutional reform & it must be ready-to-go in January 2029:
bsky.app/profile/mcop...
