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adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica
@adambonica.bsky.social
27K followers 1.2K following 780 posts

Professor of Political Science at Stanford | Exploring money in politics, campaigns and elections, ideology, the courts, and inequality | Author of The Judicial Tug of War cup.org/2LEoMrs | https://data4democracy.substack.com .. more

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adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 20d
Study after study shows campaign ads barely move the needle. So where does money’s real power come from? I ranked the five ways money corrupts politics—from least to most corrosive. What I’ve learned from 15 years of tracking political money:
Money Doesn't Buy Elections. It Does Something Worse.
Campaign ads barely move the needle. The real influence is hiding in plain sight.
open.substack.com

Reposted by Michael A. Clemens

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 4d
Corruption is a team activity. So is accountability.
Hundreds of Big Post-Election Donors Have Benefited From Trump’s Return to Office (Gift Article)
Well into his second term, the president and his allies have continued aggressively raising money. Many donors have interests before his administration, The Times found.
www.nytimes.com

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 4d
So he sided with the bigots, then?
NYtimes headline: “Vance Refuses to Take Sides in G.O.P. Fight Over Bigotry The vice president's plea for a big-tent coalition at an annual conservative gathering belied the cracks in his party over antisemitism, racism and conspiracy theories.”

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 4d
So true. I view fascism a as process that channels mass energy into hierarchical structures that serve elite purposes. Weiss’s job is to make elite interests feel like populist grievance.

Reposted by Adam Bonica, Dana R. Fisher

jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 4d
For generations scholars have debated about whether fascism was driven more by elites or the masses. I’ll just say that Bari Weiss is an entirely elite phenomenon

Reposted by John McLaren, Adam Bonica, Nathan P. Kalmoe

olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 4d
especially in the dark hours we need to remember that we are going to win
ianboudreau.com Ian Boudreau @ianboudreau.com · 5d
Worth noting, I guess, that inside of a year we've gone from administration officials taking selfies of themselves at CECOT and bragging about how it's hell on earth to now getting their horrible little media worms to kill stories about it

Reposted by Anna O. Law, David Brady, Linda J. Skitka , and 16 more

ricksteves.bsky.social
Rick Steves @ricksteves.bsky.social · 6d
It’s the “season of love and giving”…but this year, doesn’t it seem more like a “season of fear and taking”? Like many of you, I’ve been saddened by the human impact of draconian government budget cuts and how angry many housed Americans are at unhoused Americans.

🧵 1 of 9

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 6d
The article isn’t a critique of Klein and Thompson. I found their diagnosis of compelling and wanted to bring hard data to validate it and help refine the mechanisms and potential avenues for reform.

When I mention abundance thinkers blaming environmentalists, this is what I mean:
Environmentalism is Antithetical to Abundance
From the Death of Environmentalism to the Abundance Movement
www.breakthroughjournal.org

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 6d
Casten won with 54% in a district Harris won 51% in 2024. The problem is with the Split Ticket WAR scores, not Casten.

Reposted by Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 6d
Environmental law has been captured—not by environmentalists, but by wealthy interests who can afford to litigate indefinitely. Fixing abundance means reforming the legal system.​​​​​​​​​​​

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 6d
Klein and Thompson rightly recognize the overly litigious legal system is part of the problem. But it should be front and center. The path forward isn’t deregulation; it’s legal reform. Who can sue. Where disputes are heard. What happens when plaintiffs lose. Who can afford legal representation.

Reposted by Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 6d
Businesses file 20% of cases, more than twice the rate of environmental groups. Mainly to block environmental regulations or suing competitors. One gas station owner sued to stop a rival gas station across the street, claiming emissions (but not their own) required environmental review.

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 6d
The HOA lawsuits look nothing like that. A Marin County group blocked affordable senior housing citing “ambulance emissions.” Internal docs revealed the real concern: property values and demographic change. Luxury townhomes went up instead.

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 6d
When environmental groups do sue, they target ecosystems, water, and climate—not urban housing. The Sierra Club fights groundwater extraction. The Center for Biological Diversity protects endangered species. They’re almost never in court over apartment buildings or affordable housing.

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 6d
For this piece, I compiled a systematic dataset of California environmental litigation going back to 1973. Wealthy homeowners and businesses account for the vast majority of lawsuits restricting growth.
How Regulation by Litigation Strangled American Abundance
Environmentalists aren't blocking housing. Wealthy homeowners are.
open.substack.com

Reposted by Jan W. Mueller, Linda J. Skitka, Rafael H. M. Pereira , and 8 more

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 6d
The Abundance movement often points to environmental groups as the obstacles to building. But who actually files the lawsuits blocking projects? It’s not environmental groups. It’s been lawyered-up HOAs protecting property values all along. Regulation by litigation is the problem.
Bar chart titled “Who’s Really Blocking California Development?” showing the share of CEQA lawsuits by plaintiff type. HOAs and NIMBY groups account for the majority at 54%. Business and commercial plaintiffs file 20% of cases, government entities 13%, environmental groups 8%, tribal or cultural groups 4%, and labor unions 2%. The chart notes the analysis is based on 1,234 CEQA court opinions from 1973–2025 using CourtListener data, with HOAs/NIMBYs defined as homeowner associations, neighborhood groups, and ad hoc project-opposition groups.

Reposted by Nathan P. Kalmoe

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 7d
I thought even the most reactionary politicians wanted to take the country back to the 1850s. Apparently that’s not far enough—now they’re dusting off letters of marque last used in the War of 1812.

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Adam Bonica

lewan.bsky.social
Stephan Lewandowsky @lewan.bsky.social · 7d
Apparently this is not the onion: www.lee.senate.gov/2025/12/patr...

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 8d
Trump’s “Warrior Dividend” of $1,776 to 1.45 million service members totals $2.6 billion. Just today, each of the five richest billionaires made more than that.

The entire military is splitting what amounts to a rounding error in Musk’s portfolio.
Table listing the five richest people in the world with their net worth and daily gains. Elon Musk ranks first with a net worth of $644 billion and a one-day gain of $11.6 billion. Larry Page ($260B, +$4.23B), Jeff Bezos ($249B, +$4.57B), Sergey Brin ($242B, +$3.88B), and Mark Zuckerberg ($234B, +$5.08B) each gained several billion dollars in a single day.

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 8d
Want another reason to end the fundraising spam? It’s expensive and an incredibly inefficient way to fundraise. The consultants get paid. The vendors get paid. You get bombarded. And the campaigns get what’s leftover.

Reposted by Rebecca Tushnet

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 8d
Democratic House and Senate candidates have raised $418M from individual donors this cycle. They've spent $242M on fundraising and consulting.

Democratic candidates have already burned 57% of what they raised just to raise it.
Bar chart showing Democratic House and Senate candidates raised $418 million from individuals in the 2025–26 cycle. Fifty-seven percent ($242 million) is labeled “fundraising and consulting,” while 43% ($176 million) is labeled “available for campaigns.”

Reposted by Adam Bonica, Nathan P. Kalmoe

hakeemjefferson.bsky.social
Hakeem Jefferson @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · 11d
Because so many have excused and normalized his behavior, it is worth saying plainly that Donald Trump is a vile human being. When he eventually passes, we should remember him honestly. He will have earned nothing less.

Reposted by Adam Bonica, Sarah Roberts

mcopelov.bsky.social
Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 12d
Once again, marginal income, capital gains, & wealth tax rates are too low & this poses an existential threat to the Republic

Reposted by Paul Glasziou, David Lazer, Scott L. Greer , and 5 more

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 12d
For the second year in a row, the wealth gains for the 100 richest Americans exceeded what ALL American households spent on groceries combined.

~$995B for billionaires vs ~$775B in total grocery spending.

We have an oligarchy and inequality problem masquerading as an affordability crisis.
Infographic titled “2025 Billionaire Gains vs. Grocery Spending.” On the left, a large gold square shows that the top 100 richest Americans gained $995 billion in wealth in 2025, about $7,595 per U.S. household, representing wealth gains for just 100 individuals. On the right, a slightly smaller green square shows total U.S. grocery spending of $775 billion, about $5,916 per household, covering roughly 131 million households. A callout at the bottom reads “The Scale of Inequality,” noting that billionaire wealth gains exceeded national grocery spending by $220 billion. Sources listed: Bloomberg Billionaire Index and Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Reposted by Adam Bonica

victinibcn.bsky.social
Luca Migo ❌👑 @victinibcn.bsky.social · 12d
Hungary: “Resign! Resign!”, citizens crowds chant outside Viktor Orbán’s and president’s offices in Budapest. 🇪🇺🇭🇺

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 13d
It’s too common a story. That’s why it’s so essential for Democrats to become a genuine reform party and not a “we’re less corrupt than Republicans” party.

Reposted by Brian Keegan

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 13d
The latest example of the power of anti-corruption, pro-reform politics.
Massive nighttime protest in Sofia, Bulgaria, with thousands holding up phone lights outside the parliament building. NYT headline: “Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Resigns in the Face of Mass Protests.”

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 14d
Maduro is as bad as the rest of them. So it’s telling that Trump talks about Venezuela with the same hostility he usually reserves for our democratic allies.

Reposted by Scott Gehlbach

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 14d
One of Trump’s most consistent traits—right up there with racism and greed—is his admiration for dictators. He “fell in love” with Kim, defends MBS for murder, and praises Orbán and Putin at every turn. Yet when he claims to oppose Maduro on humanitarian grounds, the press politely plays along.

Reposted by Adam Bonica

evanrobertsnz.bsky.social
Evan Roberts @evanrobertsnz.bsky.social · 15d
Democrats are viewing impeachment as something closer to a criminal trial, when it's really something closer to a confidence vote in a parliamentary system. And in a parliamentary system opposition parties take those as often as they can get them.
adambonica.bsky.social Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 15d
Impeachment is a tool for political accountability, not a “sacred” constitutional ritual. If it were truly about evidence, the Senate would’ve convicted Trump unanimously after his coup attempt—the same way every jury has unanimously found him liable or guilty when the facts actually matter.
A screenshot of a quote from a joint statement by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar. The text reads: "Impeachment is a sacred constitutional vehicle designed to hold a corrupt executive accountable for abuse of power, breaking the law and violating the public trust. The effort traditionally requires a comprehensive investigative process, the collection and review of thousands of documents, an exacting scrutiny of the facts, the examination of dozens of key witnesses, Congressional hearings, sustained public organizing and the marshaling of the forces of democracy to build a broad national consensus. None of that serious work has been done, with the Republican majority focused solely on rubber stamping Donald Trump’s extreme agenda."

Reposted by Nathan P. Kalmoe, Evan Roberts

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 15d
Impeachment is a tool for political accountability, not a “sacred” constitutional ritual. If it were truly about evidence, the Senate would’ve convicted Trump unanimously after his coup attempt—the same way every jury has unanimously found him liable or guilty when the facts actually matter.
A screenshot of a quote from a joint statement by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar. The text reads: "Impeachment is a sacred constitutional vehicle designed to hold a corrupt executive accountable for abuse of power, breaking the law and violating the public trust. The effort traditionally requires a comprehensive investigative process, the collection and review of thousands of documents, an exacting scrutiny of the facts, the examination of dozens of key witnesses, Congressional hearings, sustained public organizing and the marshaling of the forces of democracy to build a broad national consensus. None of that serious work has been done, with the Republican majority focused solely on rubber stamping Donald Trump’s extreme agenda."