Nate Weisberg
@nateweisberg.bsky.social
Editor @washingtonmonthly.com
Pinned
Batya Ungar-Sargon, a Berkeley-educated leftist who couldn’t bear drinking at a bar with Trump voters, is now MAGA’s top defender.
From @nateweisberg.bsky.social:
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/04/09/w...
From @nateweisberg.bsky.social:
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/04/09/w...
Who is Batya Ungar-Sargon? | Washington Monthly
A Berkeley-educated leftist who couldn’t bear drinking at a bar with Trump voters is now MAGA’s top defender.
washingtonmonthly.com
“Fox never has populist-nationalists on, hard-core MAGA people like her,” Steve Bannon told me. “For whatever reason, they’ve decided Batya is an acceptable populist-nationalist.”
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
Once again, an opposition party instigated a shutdown but failed to win a big-time White House concession.
Why did the "Invertebrate Eight" sacrifice leverage for a deal that forfeited their main demands? –– @billscher.bsky.social
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/10/d...
Why did the "Invertebrate Eight" sacrifice leverage for a deal that forfeited their main demands? –– @billscher.bsky.social
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/10/d...
The Democratic Shutdown Capitulation: A Perfect and Unnecessary Failure
Once again, an opposition party instigated a shutdown but failed to win meaningful concessions. Democrats had leverage—and threw it away.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Once again, an opposition party instigated a shutdown but failed to win a big-time White House concession.
Why did the "Invertebrate Eight" sacrifice leverage for a deal that forfeited their main demands? –– @billscher.bsky.social
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/10/d...
Why did the "Invertebrate Eight" sacrifice leverage for a deal that forfeited their main demands? –– @billscher.bsky.social
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/10/d...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
It's driving me batty that nobody except Heather Cox Richardson, the Washington Monthly, and myself is covering Trump's race to sell off (for likely demolition) "the Sistine Chapel of the New Deal," w/ murals by Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, etc. I've furnish links below to help reporters get started.
November 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
It's driving me batty that nobody except Heather Cox Richardson, the Washington Monthly, and myself is covering Trump's race to sell off (for likely demolition) "the Sistine Chapel of the New Deal," w/ murals by Ben Shahn, Philip Guston, etc. I've furnish links below to help reporters get started.
Wow this picture ...
Stefanik's NY governor announcement is straight from the Trump School of Belligerent Capital-Letter Nicknames. Even after last week's GOP drubbing, she's treating Trump as a winning role model. What can she be thinking? It's a mystery. Or maybe not. @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/elise-stef...
Elise Stefanik’s Bad Bet on MAGA Politics
For a promise of power, she has let herself be yanked around. Now she’s launched a Trumpian campaign for governor of New York.
www.thebulwark.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Wow this picture ...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
Staking the future of the US housing market on an AI-fueled tech bubble does not seem like a great idea.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
FHFA’s Pulte Says Fannie, Freddie Eyeing Stakes in Tech Firms
Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are looking at ways to take equity stakes in technology companies.
www.bloomberg.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Staking the future of the US housing market on an AI-fueled tech bubble does not seem like a great idea.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
Democratic lead in the generic congressional ballot average, per Real Clear Politics, is the largest yet for this cycle at +4.1 www.realclearpolling.com/polls/state-...
2026 Generic Congressional Vote | RealClearPolling
2026 Generic Congressional Vote | RealClearPolling
www.realclearpolling.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Democratic lead in the generic congressional ballot average, per Real Clear Politics, is the largest yet for this cycle at +4.1 www.realclearpolling.com/polls/state-...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
In Georgia’s statewide races on Tuesday, the two Democratic candidates won 8 counties where, in 2024, Kamala Harris had received UNDER 40%.
via: almanacofamericanpolitics.substack.com/p/democrats-...
via: almanacofamericanpolitics.substack.com/p/democrats-...
November 9, 2025 at 3:23 PM
In Georgia’s statewide races on Tuesday, the two Democratic candidates won 8 counties where, in 2024, Kamala Harris had received UNDER 40%.
via: almanacofamericanpolitics.substack.com/p/democrats-...
via: almanacofamericanpolitics.substack.com/p/democrats-...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
My biggest complaint with the radical centrist crowd is that they substitute their own sometimes legitimate personal grievances within the movement for things happening more broadly with swing voters.
And they're just not the same things.
And they're just not the same things.
November 8, 2025 at 5:41 PM
My biggest complaint with the radical centrist crowd is that they substitute their own sometimes legitimate personal grievances within the movement for things happening more broadly with swing voters.
And they're just not the same things.
And they're just not the same things.
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
The movement incentives that hobbled Sierra Club are a big part of why Yglesias, Klein et al are so "anti-woke." And it's true that Standpoint Theory damaged the effectiveness of many liberal orgs.
But that's different from what is happening with swing voters!
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
But that's different from what is happening with swing voters!
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
The Sierra Club Embraced Social Justice. Then It Tore Itself Apart.
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:36 PM
The movement incentives that hobbled Sierra Club are a big part of why Yglesias, Klein et al are so "anti-woke." And it's true that Standpoint Theory damaged the effectiveness of many liberal orgs.
But that's different from what is happening with swing voters!
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
But that's different from what is happening with swing voters!
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/u...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
Elwood Watson of East Tennessee State takes the measure of various college rankings and finds @washingtonmonthly.com to be the best for most students. www.myjournalcourier.com/opinion/arti...
Commentary: A different way to rank colleges — Elwood Watson
Commentary: Washington Monthly has published rankings with the intent of avoiding what the most prestigious rankings seek to reward: an institution’s wealth, prestige, and exclusivity.
www.myjournalcourier.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Elwood Watson of East Tennessee State takes the measure of various college rankings and finds @washingtonmonthly.com to be the best for most students. www.myjournalcourier.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
As the redistricting battles rage on, and more communities are silenced, Democrats may be able to recruit soldiers from across the aisle in the broader war for fair maps.
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/07/p...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/07/p...
My Disenfranchised California Republican Neighbors Should Take It Up With Their Party
Prop 50 gerrymander passed. Meet the rural California republicans who will now be represented by a Marin County progressive.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:48 AM
As the redistricting battles rage on, and more communities are silenced, Democrats may be able to recruit soldiers from across the aisle in the broader war for fair maps.
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/07/p...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/07/p...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
My review of an important new book about how our federal tax system creates and reinforces our growing inequality was published today by The Washington Monthly magazine:
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/s...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/s...
How America’s Tax Code Built an Aristocracy
In "The Second Estate," Boston College law professor Ray Madoff argues that America’s tax code has birthed a modern aristocracy.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:02 PM
My review of an important new book about how our federal tax system creates and reinforces our growing inequality was published today by The Washington Monthly magazine:
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/s...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/s...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
“Considering that Trump has done nothing for Latinos, but done plenty to Latinos, don’t be surprised if Latino embrace of Trump proves short-lived, and the gerrymandered Texas map becomes a humiliating own goal.”
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/07/l...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/07/l...
Latinos Swung Left This Week. That’s Trouble for the GOP’s 2026 Texas Redistricting Gambit
Latino voters just swung left in New Jersey and California, signaling trouble for the GOP’s 2026 Texas gerrymander.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:15 PM
“Considering that Trump has done nothing for Latinos, but done plenty to Latinos, don’t be surprised if Latino embrace of Trump proves short-lived, and the gerrymandered Texas map becomes a humiliating own goal.”
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/07/l...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/07/l...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
Sign up for the Washington Monthly daily newsletter to get two new stories in your inbox every weekday, plus a best-of-the-week roundup on Sundays. Join on the right side of our home page, opt out any time: washingtonmonthly.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Sign up for the Washington Monthly daily newsletter to get two new stories in your inbox every weekday, plus a best-of-the-week roundup on Sundays. Join on the right side of our home page, opt out any time: washingtonmonthly.com
Seems apt today, from @washingtonmonthly.com @mgraber1.bsky.social review of Barrett's legal memoir: "That some Roberts Court justices may side with the Wall Street Journal editorial page over Donald Trump when the justices rule on tariffs hardly demonstrates a court above politics."
bit.ly/47FA2tz
bit.ly/47FA2tz
Justice Barrett’s Campaign Biography
Amy Coney Barrett’s book, "Listening to the Law," claims the Supreme Court is above politics. Its very existence proves otherwise.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Seems apt today, from @washingtonmonthly.com @mgraber1.bsky.social review of Barrett's legal memoir: "That some Roberts Court justices may side with the Wall Street Journal editorial page over Donald Trump when the justices rule on tariffs hardly demonstrates a court above politics."
bit.ly/47FA2tz
bit.ly/47FA2tz
I got a lot of hate for this article, but we may be about to see how a candidate with a commanding lead over the competition can lose to an incoherent ranked-choice voting alliance:
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I got a lot of hate for this article, but we may be about to see how a candidate with a commanding lead over the competition can lose to an incoherent ranked-choice voting alliance:
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
The main takeaway from tonight after moderates and Mamdani won: The Democratic Party is and always will be a messy coalition. In the 1900s, it had segregationists and New Deal Liberals. In Obama's era, it had Ted Kennedy and pro-gun anti-abortion Democrats. It is and always be a coalition.
November 5, 2025 at 3:31 AM
The main takeaway from tonight after moderates and Mamdani won: The Democratic Party is and always will be a messy coalition. In the 1900s, it had segregationists and New Deal Liberals. In Obama's era, it had Ted Kennedy and pro-gun anti-abortion Democrats. It is and always be a coalition.
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
Yesterday I argued @washingtonmonthly.com that the policies parties pursue play a bigger role in elections than most politically focused people think. Today, @mattyglesias.bsky.social does an excellent job…/1 washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/e...
How the Democrats Can Play Offense
The November/December issue of the Washington Monthly print magazine, "How the Democrats Can Go On Offense," is here.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Yesterday I argued @washingtonmonthly.com that the policies parties pursue play a bigger role in elections than most politically focused people think. Today, @mattyglesias.bsky.social does an excellent job…/1 washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/e...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
It’s no wonder birth rates are falling—our economy makes parenting harder than it should be.
As @suzmkahn.bsky.social writes in @washingtonmonthly.com we need to treat care and time as public goods so people can afford to start and raise families.
https://bit.ly/4qD6ZQ5
As @suzmkahn.bsky.social writes in @washingtonmonthly.com we need to treat care and time as public goods so people can afford to start and raise families.
https://bit.ly/4qD6ZQ5
Running Out of People
In After the Spike, two economists make a provocative case that population decline could stall innovation and human progress.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 4, 2025 at 6:32 PM
It’s no wonder birth rates are falling—our economy makes parenting harder than it should be.
As @suzmkahn.bsky.social writes in @washingtonmonthly.com we need to treat care and time as public goods so people can afford to start and raise families.
https://bit.ly/4qD6ZQ5
As @suzmkahn.bsky.social writes in @washingtonmonthly.com we need to treat care and time as public goods so people can afford to start and raise families.
https://bit.ly/4qD6ZQ5
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
Violation of the Hatch Act at top of the SNAP web page:
"Senate Democrats are withholding services to the American people in exchange for healthcare for illegals, gender mutilation, and other unknown 'leverage' points."
"Senate Democrats are withholding services to the American people in exchange for healthcare for illegals, gender mutilation, and other unknown 'leverage' points."
November 4, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Violation of the Hatch Act at top of the SNAP web page:
"Senate Democrats are withholding services to the American people in exchange for healthcare for illegals, gender mutilation, and other unknown 'leverage' points."
"Senate Democrats are withholding services to the American people in exchange for healthcare for illegals, gender mutilation, and other unknown 'leverage' points."
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
My latest is about what’s missing from all those stories about Microsoft’s investment in the United Arab Emirates and how it’s making me question my own senses.
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
The Business Press Is in Denial About Trump’s UAE Bribe
As Microsoft sends AI chips to the United Arab Emirates, reporters are failing to explain exactly how it was made possible.
newrepublic.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:48 PM
My latest is about what’s missing from all those stories about Microsoft’s investment in the United Arab Emirates and how it’s making me question my own senses.
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
Excited that my new book review came out at the same time as Corrine Low's essay on what the medical professions can teach us about how to organize jobs to be family friendly. There's a lot to be learned by looking at how women organize work when they have numbers.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
November 3, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Excited that my new book review came out at the same time as Corrine Low's essay on what the medical professions can teach us about how to organize jobs to be family friendly. There's a lot to be learned by looking at how women organize work when they have numbers.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
@mgraber1.bsky.social reviews Justice Barrett’s book:
“By presenting judging as a realm of pure law, insulated from politics, the justices offer a picture so implausible that it makes the opposite claim—that judging is nothing but politics—more credible.”
“By presenting judging as a realm of pure law, insulated from politics, the justices offer a picture so implausible that it makes the opposite claim—that judging is nothing but politics—more credible.”
Justice Barrett’s Campaign Biography
Amy Coney Barrett’s book, "Listening to the Law," claims the Supreme Court is above politics. Its very existence proves otherwise.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:27 PM
@mgraber1.bsky.social reviews Justice Barrett’s book:
“By presenting judging as a realm of pure law, insulated from politics, the justices offer a picture so implausible that it makes the opposite claim—that judging is nothing but politics—more credible.”
“By presenting judging as a realm of pure law, insulated from politics, the justices offer a picture so implausible that it makes the opposite claim—that judging is nothing but politics—more credible.”
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
The Minneapolis Mayoral Race Is the One to Watch. Really.
A three-candidate alliance could unseat a popular incumbent and hand City Hall to a pol most voters didn’t choose.
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/04/m...
A three-candidate alliance could unseat a popular incumbent and hand City Hall to a pol most voters didn’t choose.
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/04/m...
The Minneapolis Mayoral Race Is the One to Watch. Really
The 2025 Minneapolis mayoral race shows how ranked-choice voting can upend politics, as a three-way alliance looks to unseat the incumbent.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:46 PM
The Minneapolis Mayoral Race Is the One to Watch. Really.
A three-candidate alliance could unseat a popular incumbent and hand City Hall to a pol most voters didn’t choose.
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/04/m...
A three-candidate alliance could unseat a popular incumbent and hand City Hall to a pol most voters didn’t choose.
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/04/m...
Reposted by Nate Weisberg
The Constitution remains on display in the National Archives today, reverently viewed by visitors, "much as Mao Zedong sleeps in his tomb in Tiananmen Square," @garrettepps.bsky.social writes. But the most revolutionary part of the document is its capacity for change: bit.ly/4omReLy
Constitution in Progress
In We the People, Jill Lepore argues the Constitution isn’t the parchment paper, but the evolving democratic imagination of the people.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:32 AM
The Constitution remains on display in the National Archives today, reverently viewed by visitors, "much as Mao Zedong sleeps in his tomb in Tiananmen Square," @garrettepps.bsky.social writes. But the most revolutionary part of the document is its capacity for change: bit.ly/4omReLy