David Karol

Happy to announce the publication of “How Does Party Position Change Happen? The case of LGBT Rights in the U.S.” in @PRQjournal !🧵 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10… Ungated version: gvpt.umd.edu/publicationpro…

@ChadPergram "We needed the numbers"? She hasn't voted since July! How was it helping anyone except her staff (and maybe her family using her salary to pay for care?) to keep her in office? And this is a statement, not a quote, which is telling.

Office of GOP TX Rep Kay Granger says the retiring Congresswoman is NOT in memory care. However she is in a retirement facility. But it is a facility which provides memory care. Granger statement: “I am deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern over the past several days. As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year. However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my incredible staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years. In November, I was able to return to DC to hold meetings on behalf of my constituents, express my gratitude to my staff, and oversee the closure of my Washington office. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the city of Fort Worth—as a city council member, as mayor, and as a Member of Congress.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support that you have extended to me.” Fox is told she reached the decision on her own to step down as Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee on her own after the last batch of spending bills were concluded in the spring. She would remain as a Member until the conclusion of this Congress. However, Granger was at the Capitol in mid-November for the unveiling of her portrait as Appropriations Committee Chairwoman and a reception. Fox was told that Granger was lucid and it was “packed.” That said, Fox is told that there’s a reason Granger did not step down earlier: “Frankly, we needed the numbers,” said one senior Republican source, referring to the paper-thin GOP House majority.

Once prose stylists are furloughed, cliche is the inevitable result.

@Tyler_A_Harper @JrWannamaker There actually WERE "cheap fakes" though, whatever you think of Biden's condition. NY Post cropped the parachutist Biden greeted out of the G7 photo to make it look like he wandered aimlessly into an empty field. They just had to exaggerate, but you've decided to ignore that.

@JrWannamaker Completely disgraceful

Democrats styled themselves as the saviors of Democracy and the purveyors of Truth. But many Americans rightly see them as a party of liars who covered up a serious scandal and told the public not to believe their own eyes. I think Dems under-estimate how much trust they’ve lost.

Much reporting on the Dems' Oversight race boils it down to a narrative with AOC as protagonist, Nancy Pelosi as antagonist, and Gerry Connolly reduced to age/health if mentioned at all. Basically none of that is right in my personal opinion. We'll soon know how it shakes out...

The last time a Wray was so terrified of a vicious brute who became famous via Manhattan skyscrapers

The politics of SALT can be such that: - Most Republicans don't want the deduction back and instead want something else - Most Democrats don't want the deduction back and instead want something else And yet: - Under certain circumstances, the pro- SALT minority is empowered.

@fsholars Yeah, re "most, "some" is quite vague, but I can only do so much here.

@DKarol Has most of Syria, better than assad

Or maybe, just maybe, incumbent parties tend to lose in inflationary environments.

@daniel_dsj2110 There are a couple of quotes attributed to Bismarck -not sure of veracity of those- that talk about how lucky the US was- but without the bitterness.

@DKarol Raymond Aron regularly made similar comments—it was a common sentiment among the European elite

Charles de Gaulle on the American fascism debate: “You must never forget that America has not existed very long. It is composed of people who have come from everywhere … It has not always existed like Russia or France … It has no depth nor roots … It has never suffered, never been invaded … Its reactions are always those of a country that does not know what it is to suffer.”

@daniel_dsj2110 Only because I can't see what his source was. He was in the room with de Gaulle and Kosygin? Someone who was told him? But I said it's plausible. it sounds like him and the main point was that it was a hyperbolic statement. I am not saying you invented it.

@DKarol He made exaggerated claims his entire career. I’m confused about the hesitancy to acknowledge its veracity, especially since the historian who cited it is probably the greatest living historian of France’s first half of the 20th century

@Blade0Runner @daniel_dsj2110 We'll never know how many millions died under Mao either, or at the hands of the Japanese, but it was a lot. CdG wasn't talking about China though and made hyperbolic and cartoonish claims re the U.S. He could have just said the US has been more fortunate than many.

@DKarol @daniel_dsj2110 Here is an example. US civil war, the bloodiest conflict in US history, caused estimated 1.5 million total casualties Around roughly the same time, the civil war of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occurred in Qing Empire, caused estimated at least 100 millions, maybe up to 160 millions

@daniel_dsj2110 In the book you linked to I saw it was in a conversation with Kosygin and couldn't see the author's source, but CdG was arrogant and plausible he said it, I agree. The main point is he was making exaggerated claims.

@DKarol Of course he said it.

@daniel_dsj2110 Interesting, assuming CdG said it, then he was ignorant of much of American history.

@DKarol google.com/books/edition/…

It's nice to see someone admitting he was mistaken rather than just deleting the tweet and hoping few would notice or remember.

@rjwile Thanksgiving conversations suggest Gen Z doesn't know Elizabeth Taylor. Biggest star in the world- 2 Oscars, $60 million in today's $ for one movie, tabloid fodder for a long time and noted activist. 99.99% of people are forgotten. When remembered it's usually by a small group.

Post-Gaetz Confimation Poll. Trump's controversial nominees, post-Gaetz withdrawal, could be voted on or receive recess appointments. The ultimate process will be

Post Gaetz Confirmation Poll Part II: Thinking of Trump's remaining cabinet-level or otherwise high-profile nominees, what is likely to happen?