Virtue Polarization is a hell of a thing
I say again it’s sort of amazing the libs are getting both Great Books and the Protestant Work Ethic in the national divorce
It's absolutely bonkers to me that this image led directly to this tweet.
October 7, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Virtue Polarization is a hell of a thing
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
May 8, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
is this... polarization
April 3, 2025 at 10:57 PM
is this... polarization
over at the newsletter I wrote about the useful bogeyman that is "polarization":
The Problem Is Right Wing Extremism, Not 'Polarization'
Ambiguous media whining about "polarization" or "partisan tribalism" redirects attention away from the real cause of modern U.S. division: violent right wing extremism.
karlbode.com
October 6, 2026 at 5:48 PM
over at the newsletter I wrote about the useful bogeyman that is "polarization":
Every damn book, conference, big money fellowship has been about reducing polarization. Many knew the real issue wasn’t polarization, but that polarization was the only politically correct proxy for the real problem. What a joke man
April 29, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Every damn book, conference, big money fellowship has been about reducing polarization. Many knew the real issue wasn’t polarization, but that polarization was the only politically correct proxy for the real problem. What a joke man
America doesn’t have a polarization problem
America has a right-wing extremism problem
America has a right-wing extremism problem
October 1, 2026 at 12:26 AM
America doesn’t have a polarization problem
America has a right-wing extremism problem
America has a right-wing extremism problem
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
May 8, 2026 at 12:51 PM
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
Right-wing radicalization ≠ polarization
This is why I have real fucking problem with blithe criticisms of "polarization" or "congressional dysfunction." We have a Republican member blaming his colleague for being attacked.
The problem isn't polarization or dysfunction. It's the Republican Party.
The problem isn't polarization or dysfunction. It's the Republican Party.
Rep. Randy Fine on Ilhan Omar getting attacked: "I blame Ilhan Omar for what happened"
January 28, 2026 at 4:00 PM
This is why I have real fucking problem with blithe criticisms of "polarization" or "congressional dysfunction." We have a Republican member blaming his colleague for being attacked.
The problem isn't polarization or dysfunction. It's the Republican Party.
The problem isn't polarization or dysfunction. It's the Republican Party.
effectively the court is saying that there is no such thing as racial polarization, only party polarization. or at least, there is no such thing as racial polarization when to say otherwise would be to potentially benefit the democratic party.
It gets a little more wild each time they say it.
So if every single Black person votes one way, and every single white person votes the opposite way, every election, that's not even RELEVANT to whether voting is "racially polarized"—as long as this durable disagreement is organized into 'parties.'
So if every single Black person votes one way, and every single white person votes the opposite way, every election, that's not even RELEVANT to whether voting is "racially polarized"—as long as this durable disagreement is organized into 'parties.'
June 3, 2026 at 2:50 AM
effectively the court is saying that there is no such thing as racial polarization, only party polarization. or at least, there is no such thing as racial polarization when to say otherwise would be to potentially benefit the democratic party.
Today in "it's not polarization"
October 5, 2026 at 6:57 PM
Today in "it's not polarization"
"Worse than Bush after Katrina" is a polling benchmark that I thought that partisan polarization had made impossible
Pollster: 58% of Americans say Trump's second term has been a failure. A year into term number two, Trump's numbers look worse than any other president. Trump is even worse than George W. Bush after Katrina and a long period in the Iraq War. This is really, really bad.
January 16, 2026 at 6:13 PM
"Worse than Bush after Katrina" is a polling benchmark that I thought that partisan polarization had made impossible
Polarization babeeeeeeee observer.com/2012/09/rand...
December 12, 2024 at 6:48 PM
Polarization babeeeeeeee observer.com/2012/09/rand...
‘Polarization’ has become the master concept for diagnosing our current democratic crisis.
But this is not polarization. It is the radicalization of the political right.
By misdiagnosing it, we risk becoming complicit in the crisis. 🧵
Just out in Perspectives on Politics
doi.org/10.1017/S153...
But this is not polarization. It is the radicalization of the political right.
By misdiagnosing it, we risk becoming complicit in the crisis. 🧵
Just out in Perspectives on Politics
doi.org/10.1017/S153...
July 7, 2026 at 11:14 AM
‘Polarization’ has become the master concept for diagnosing our current democratic crisis.
But this is not polarization. It is the radicalization of the political right.
By misdiagnosing it, we risk becoming complicit in the crisis. 🧵
Just out in Perspectives on Politics
doi.org/10.1017/S153...
But this is not polarization. It is the radicalization of the political right.
By misdiagnosing it, we risk becoming complicit in the crisis. 🧵
Just out in Perspectives on Politics
doi.org/10.1017/S153...
suburban polarization is fascinating
November 4, 2025 at 8:32 PM
suburban polarization is fascinating
negative polarization babeeeee
August 10, 2025 at 10:36 PM
negative polarization babeeeee
!!!! from “Polarization Is Not the Problem” by @lilymasonphd.bsky.social — muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...
"The current level of political animosity is exactly what one would expect to see if an extremist faction attempted to rescind the hard-earned rights of the vast majority of the country’s citizens."
There are not enough exclamation points to convey how I felt reading this paragraph
There are not enough exclamation points to convey how I felt reading this paragraph
October 2, 2026 at 9:50 PM
!!!! from “Polarization Is Not the Problem” by @lilymasonphd.bsky.social — muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/articl...
southern racial polarization is a hell of a thing
How White people voted by state according to VoteHub (Negative is Dem, Positive is Republican)
January 16, 2026 at 4:42 PM
southern racial polarization is a hell of a thing
i think cox should spend less time weeping about polarization and more time working to convince his co-partisans not to abandon pluralism and liberal democracy
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has emerged as a prominent voice calling on Americans to step back from the political hostility gripping the country. The Republican governor is expanding on that message in a new book. https://to.pbs.org/3VmTJnx
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on his blueprint for depolarizing a fractured nation
In the aftermath of the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox emerged as a prominent voice calling on Americans to step back from the political hatred and violence gripping the country. Now, the Republican governor ...
to.pbs.org
October 1, 2026 at 11:34 AM
i think cox should spend less time weeping about polarization and more time working to convince his co-partisans not to abandon pluralism and liberal democracy
My new JOD piece arguing against the “cure polarization” approach to saving democracy.
Americans have never been angrier with one another. But polarization is not the disease—it is the response to a revanchist movement seeking to roll back sixty years of social progress.
🆕 by @lilymasonphd.bsky.social
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
🆕 by @lilymasonphd.bsky.social
muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...
October 1, 2026 at 8:15 PM
My new JOD piece arguing against the “cure polarization” approach to saving democracy.
This polarization is going to produce some pretty dramatic statistics pretty soon.
September 3, 2025 at 6:47 PM
This polarization is going to produce some pretty dramatic statistics pretty soon.
Thermostatic negative polarization machine go brrrr
February 9, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Thermostatic negative polarization machine go brrrr
Today in "it's not polarization" 👇🎯
October 1, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Today in "it's not polarization" 👇🎯
sir, educational polarization has hit the republican fed chair
Fed Chair Powell graduation remarks to Princeton nod toward our current predicament: "Look around you. I urge you to take none of this for granted. When you look back in 50 years, you will want to know that you have done whatever it takes to preserve and strengthen our democracy."
May 25, 2025 at 8:53 PM
sir, educational polarization has hit the republican fed chair
You know what's stronger than negative polarization? The answer is also negative polarization. Absolute lion behavior
June 30, 2025 at 5:48 PM
You know what's stronger than negative polarization? The answer is also negative polarization. Absolute lion behavior
Public health officials are concerned about increasing polarization among Americans over vaccines.
COVID gave rise to vaccine skepticism. That may affect preparedness for next pandemic
Public health officials are concerned about increasing polarization among Americans over vaccines.
www.npr.org
March 29, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Public health officials are concerned about increasing polarization among Americans over vaccines.