Michael Tesler
@tesler.bsky.social
Professor of Political Science | UC-Irvine
Reposted by Michael Tesler
"This is an elite failure, not a popular one. The Democratic base understands what’s at stake. Grassroots activists and voters have shown they’re willing to fight. The failure lies with party leadership who mistake capitulation for pragmatism." data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-compas...
The Compassion Trap: How the Shutdown Weaponized Democratic Values Against Democracy Itself
When Opposition Parties Stop Fighting Because the Cruelty Becomes Unbearable. And Why They Shouldn't.
data4democracy.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:55 PM
"This is an elite failure, not a popular one. The Democratic base understands what’s at stake. Grassroots activists and voters have shown they’re willing to fight. The failure lies with party leadership who mistake capitulation for pragmatism." data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-compas...
Reposted by Michael Tesler
“woke” is when you acknowledge that black people have contributed to the united states
Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.
November 8, 2025 at 9:01 PM
“woke” is when you acknowledge that black people have contributed to the united states
Reposted by Michael Tesler
No one should engage in any discourse about whether women should work. Any such utterances should be laughed out of the room. That debate is over. Full stop. No further discussion is necessary. What remains are dominative fantasies & I do not consent. The end.
November 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM
No one should engage in any discourse about whether women should work. Any such utterances should be laughed out of the room. That debate is over. Full stop. No further discussion is necessary. What remains are dominative fantasies & I do not consent. The end.
Reposted by Michael Tesler
ADL is essentially an arm of MAGA now, providing cover for violent right-wing antisemites and smearing left-wing allies as as antisemites. It is really terrible how quickly & thoroughly Jonathan Greenblatt has managed to turn such an important organization for Jews (really all of US) against us.
November 5, 2025 at 9:33 PM
ADL is essentially an arm of MAGA now, providing cover for violent right-wing antisemites and smearing left-wing allies as as antisemites. It is really terrible how quickly & thoroughly Jonathan Greenblatt has managed to turn such an important organization for Jews (really all of US) against us.
Reposted by Michael Tesler
“Animal welfare groups in the Tampa Bay area say that wave has had a heartbreaking ripple effect: hundreds of pets left behind when families are forced to go.” www.fox13news.com/news/tampa-a...
Tampa animal rescue overwhelmed with pets abandoned amid immigration departures
Tampa nonprofit Mercy Full Project says it’s taking in record numbers of abandoned pets linked to families leaving the U.S. from the recent immigration crackdown.
www.fox13news.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:58 PM
“Animal welfare groups in the Tampa Bay area say that wave has had a heartbreaking ripple effect: hundreds of pets left behind when families are forced to go.” www.fox13news.com/news/tampa-a...
Reposted by Michael Tesler
Kevin Roberts' defense of Nick Fuentes is a watershed moment: the right has officially declared open, unabashed Hitlerism to be an acceptable position in their coalition
www.vox.com/politics/466...
www.vox.com/politics/466...
The GOP’s top think tank just defended an open Nazi
Reasonable people can disagree about whether Hitler was good, says the Heritage Foundation.
www.vox.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Kevin Roberts' defense of Nick Fuentes is a watershed moment: the right has officially declared open, unabashed Hitlerism to be an acceptable position in their coalition
www.vox.com/politics/466...
www.vox.com/politics/466...
Reposted by Michael Tesler
Really proud of the slate of books we’re publishing in politics & sociology this year. The latest - Bob William’s “Funding White Supremacy” - is out now!
Examines how US federal wealth policies over the past two centuries have contributed to the modern racial wealth gap.
Funding White Supremacy by Robert B. Williams (part of the Cambridge Studies in Stratification Economics series)
Out Now
#BookSky #USPol #PoliSci
cup.org/40RIX95
Funding White Supremacy by Robert B. Williams (part of the Cambridge Studies in Stratification Economics series)
Out Now
#BookSky #USPol #PoliSci
cup.org/40RIX95
Funding White Supremacy
Cambridge Core - Sociology of Race and Ethnicity - Funding White Supremacy
cup.org
June 17, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Really proud of the slate of books we’re publishing in politics & sociology this year. The latest - Bob William’s “Funding White Supremacy” - is out now!
Reposted by Michael Tesler
Republican elites have recently begun panicking about rising antisemitism among the conservative base. And they're right: this is a crisis.
But it's one that is, in large part, of their own making www.vox.com/politics/466...
But it's one that is, in large part, of their own making www.vox.com/politics/466...
The GOP’s antisemitism crisis
Nick Fuentes, Tucker Carlson, and the looming Republican civil war over Jews.
www.vox.com
October 27, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Republican elites have recently begun panicking about rising antisemitism among the conservative base. And they're right: this is a crisis.
But it's one that is, in large part, of their own making www.vox.com/politics/466...
But it's one that is, in large part, of their own making www.vox.com/politics/466...
Reposted by Michael Tesler
Thinking a lot recently about the outrage over Lizzo playing James Madison's flute
Photos: White House East Wing Demolished For Trump’s Ballroom
The privately funded ballroom will be approximately 90,000 square feet, much larger than the White House itself.
www.forbes.com
October 25, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Thinking a lot recently about the outrage over Lizzo playing James Madison's flute
Reposted by Michael Tesler
We Rate Dogs has joined the frogs.
October 14, 2025 at 7:45 PM
We Rate Dogs has joined the frogs.
Reposted by Michael Tesler
It’s funny how black people are expected to reach across the aisle to voters like these, while no one ever expects them to reach across the aisle to black people. Amazing who gets to be human, and who doesn’t.
POLITICO: “.. They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies .. and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.
@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
October 14, 2025 at 6:10 PM
It’s funny how black people are expected to reach across the aisle to voters like these, while no one ever expects them to reach across the aisle to black people. Amazing who gets to be human, and who doesn’t.
Reposted by Michael Tesler
There was a time when this would actually be a scandal. Now it's not even a surprise.
Oh hey, check this out. They talk the same way in their private chats as they do on Twitter www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat
Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.
www.politico.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:58 PM
There was a time when this would actually be a scandal. Now it's not even a surprise.
Reposted by Michael Tesler
if i had a dime for every rhonda lacenzo i knew in hebrew school
October 13, 2025 at 5:01 PM
if i had a dime for every rhonda lacenzo i knew in hebrew school
Reposted by Michael Tesler
Could not be more well-deserved! Congratulations Hahrie! 🎉 @hahrie.bsky.social
Johns Hopkins political scientist Hahrie Han receives MacArthur genius grant
Han, who studies political organizing and collective action and who has led the university's SNF Agora Institute since 2019, among 22 individuals to receive coveted MacArthur Foundation recognition
hub.jhu.edu
October 8, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Could not be more well-deserved! Congratulations Hahrie! 🎉 @hahrie.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Tesler
New article: "Fundamentals of Solidarity: Race-Based Caucus Organizing in Houston" is live at Urban Affairs Review. I'm grateful to the organizers who let me into their world and work so we could produce this piece. Check it out 👇
Fundamentals of Solidarity: Race-Based Caucus Organizing in Houston - Elizabeth Jordie Davies, 2025
Grassroots organizations often espouse multiracial solidarity as a value but struggle with putting this value into practice. How can organizations, especially t...
doi.org
October 7, 2025 at 12:17 AM
New article: "Fundamentals of Solidarity: Race-Based Caucus Organizing in Houston" is live at Urban Affairs Review. I'm grateful to the organizers who let me into their world and work so we could produce this piece. Check it out 👇
Reposted by Michael Tesler
The new season of The Peacemaker on HBO is so, so good!
The story, the action, the one-liners, the humor, the pathos. (Also it's anti-Nazi, which in this current American moment, is super approrpriate and necessary!)
Congrats to
@jamesgunn.bsky.social, John Cena, and the entire team.
The story, the action, the one-liners, the humor, the pathos. (Also it's anti-Nazi, which in this current American moment, is super approrpriate and necessary!)
Congrats to
@jamesgunn.bsky.social, John Cena, and the entire team.
October 8, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The new season of The Peacemaker on HBO is so, so good!
The story, the action, the one-liners, the humor, the pathos. (Also it's anti-Nazi, which in this current American moment, is super approrpriate and necessary!)
Congrats to
@jamesgunn.bsky.social, John Cena, and the entire team.
The story, the action, the one-liners, the humor, the pathos. (Also it's anti-Nazi, which in this current American moment, is super approrpriate and necessary!)
Congrats to
@jamesgunn.bsky.social, John Cena, and the entire team.
Reposted by Michael Tesler
My book w/@profsorelle.bsky.social will be out in January! These ideas have brewed since I interned at Queens Legal Services 20 years ago. The book is for anyone who cares about people, justice, power & democracy. Much more to share more in the coming months!
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Uncivil Democracy
How the civil legal system undermines the political lives of marginalized communities
press.princeton.edu
September 22, 2025 at 2:59 PM
My book w/@profsorelle.bsky.social will be out in January! These ideas have brewed since I interned at Queens Legal Services 20 years ago. The book is for anyone who cares about people, justice, power & democracy. Much more to share more in the coming months!
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
Reposted by Michael Tesler
Under Biden, there was no thermostatic shift in public opinion about the size of government. The public stayed relatively liberal. Take attitudes toward the government's role in health care:
October 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Under Biden, there was no thermostatic shift in public opinion about the size of government. The public stayed relatively liberal. Take attitudes toward the government's role in health care:
Reposted by Michael Tesler
If you’re white, your accomplishments are your own and you can resent and criticize the country all you like, but if you’re black and successful you should be grateful to white people for allowing you in their presence. bsky.app/profile/jess...
Weaponized gratitude is a key tool in the abuser's toolkit. The goal is to convince the victim that they owe the abuser so much, they should feel guilty for wanting to complain.
October 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM
If you’re white, your accomplishments are your own and you can resent and criticize the country all you like, but if you’re black and successful you should be grateful to white people for allowing you in their presence. bsky.app/profile/jess...
Reposted by Michael Tesler
The Vice President of the United States used his social media page to tell Joy Reid, a private citizen with no connection to the government, that she should express "gratitude" for how this country has treated her.
Black women remain the most consistent targets in all of this.
Black women remain the most consistent targets in all of this.
October 4, 2025 at 1:15 PM
The Vice President of the United States used his social media page to tell Joy Reid, a private citizen with no connection to the government, that she should express "gratitude" for how this country has treated her.
Black women remain the most consistent targets in all of this.
Black women remain the most consistent targets in all of this.
Reposted by Michael Tesler
My husband was detained by ICE today
Juan Muñoz, an American citizen, father of 2, and local government official, was peacefully protesting w. other elected officials. He was assaulted and taken away
I have had zero contact or updates since
#SOS
@duckworth.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov
Juan Muñoz, an American citizen, father of 2, and local government official, was peacefully protesting w. other elected officials. He was assaulted and taken away
I have had zero contact or updates since
#SOS
@duckworth.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov
October 3, 2025 at 5:12 PM
My husband was detained by ICE today
Juan Muñoz, an American citizen, father of 2, and local government official, was peacefully protesting w. other elected officials. He was assaulted and taken away
I have had zero contact or updates since
#SOS
@duckworth.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov
Juan Muñoz, an American citizen, father of 2, and local government official, was peacefully protesting w. other elected officials. He was assaulted and taken away
I have had zero contact or updates since
#SOS
@duckworth.senate.gov @durbin.senate.gov
Reposted by Michael Tesler
IF ANY CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY SIGNS THIS RADICAL AGREEMENT, THEY'LL LOSE BILLIONS IN STATE FUNDING — INCLUDING CAL GRANTS — INSTANTLY.
CALIFORNIA WILL NOT BANKROLL SCHOOLS THAT SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, RESEARCHERS, AND SURRENDER ACADEMIC FREEDOM.
CALIFORNIA WILL NOT BANKROLL SCHOOLS THAT SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, RESEARCHERS, AND SURRENDER ACADEMIC FREEDOM.
October 2, 2025 at 8:34 PM
IF ANY CALIFORNIA UNIVERSITY SIGNS THIS RADICAL AGREEMENT, THEY'LL LOSE BILLIONS IN STATE FUNDING — INCLUDING CAL GRANTS — INSTANTLY.
CALIFORNIA WILL NOT BANKROLL SCHOOLS THAT SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, RESEARCHERS, AND SURRENDER ACADEMIC FREEDOM.
CALIFORNIA WILL NOT BANKROLL SCHOOLS THAT SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, RESEARCHERS, AND SURRENDER ACADEMIC FREEDOM.
Reposted by Michael Tesler
Reconstruction bros have long understood that in the American context, "socialism" most often means "integration and equality" bsky.app/profile/bren...
As a child of the Reagan years, the fact that the *Republican Party* is expropriating shares in companies and shaking companies down while saying stuff like this is wild
BARTIROMO: The idea of government owning portions of public companies -- this is something that free-market have to get their heads around.
BESSENT: Maria, there are decisions that the US government makes that we believe are good for society
BESSENT: Maria, there are decisions that the US government makes that we believe are good for society
September 24, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reconstruction bros have long understood that in the American context, "socialism" most often means "integration and equality" bsky.app/profile/bren...
Reposted by Michael Tesler
like guys this is the whole thing, right here, in one chart
September 24, 2025 at 2:14 PM
like guys this is the whole thing, right here, in one chart
Reposted by Michael Tesler
Some major personal news:
Things have really changed. Now I need your help.
On why I left academia, why I left America, and why I need your support as I am starting over as a full-time independent writer:
Onward. Forward. Steady:
Things have really changed. Now I need your help.
On why I left academia, why I left America, and why I need your support as I am starting over as a full-time independent writer:
Onward. Forward. Steady:
Onward. Forward. Steady.
Things have really changed. Now I need your help.
steady.page
September 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Some major personal news:
Things have really changed. Now I need your help.
On why I left academia, why I left America, and why I need your support as I am starting over as a full-time independent writer:
Onward. Forward. Steady:
Things have really changed. Now I need your help.
On why I left academia, why I left America, and why I need your support as I am starting over as a full-time independent writer:
Onward. Forward. Steady: