@RandolphMacon prof into state & local #VApolitics. #RVA Forever. Author of #LocalPoliticsMatters, 2020, from @lanternpm
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Sep 3, 2021 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
As I prep my political theory class for this fall, I'm struck that one thing the TX abortion law should hammer home, and that some of us sometimes forget: conservatism is openly hostile towards individual freedom #Thread
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As ideology, conservatism embraces ancient ideas of difference. Plato's Republic imagines world where people are sorted according to innate characteristics; Aristotle thought democracy was worst form of government. To Greeks, some people just better suited to rule than others
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May 6, 2021 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
As #VAGOP convention approaches, candidates talking about banning "critical race theory" from our schools. We know that racist appeals work on many white voters (hi Donald!) but this one is especially insidious. Here's why #Thread
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First, #CriticalRaceTheory is term for some pretty high-level scholarship and theoretical work, like real pomo philosophy shit. Crenshaw, Delgado, Bell. Mostly influential in legal theory. Time mag explainer (h/t to @bluevirginia) is just fine: 2/ time.com/5891138/critic…
Apr 16, 2021 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
Maybe you've seen this, but this week my students and I went on an eye-opening trip through the @americanpano Mapping Inequality project from @UR_DSL
#Redlining in #RVA: a quick #Thread
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Background: the federal govt's Home Owners' Loan Corporation was a New Deal org aimed at helping people keep their homes post-Depression. Financially, it did pretty well - even turning a small profit 2/ trumanlibrary.gov/library/public…
Sep 26, 2020 • 9 tweets • 5 min read
Happy weekend VA! Earlier this week I tweeted out #VoteNoOn1, the redistricting commission amendment. I'm still a No, but feel a Prof's need to clarify after hearing from some folks on both sides #Thread 1/
Earlier I said we all want Non-partisan, but even A1 supporters say that's basically impossible. What we actually want is INDEPENDENCE. Current SB 5015 tries to specify criteria for citizen members beyond "party picks" so it would help if passed 2/
Good morning VA! As early voting ramps up around the state, now’s a good time to remind you to Vote NO on Amendment 1, which supposedly ensures fair redistricting. I’m not convinced. Here's why: #VoteNOon1 #Thread 1/
Background: you probably know that “redistricting” - drawing district lines for state legislature and Congress - is super important is for setting the political course of the next decade. So do politicians, which is why they try to control it 2/
Sep 15, 2020 • 9 tweets • 4 min read
Anyone check out the #RVAProtests "112 Days" show on @CBS6 last night? You can watch it on MSN (linked below), but I did so you don't have to. Two big thoughts: #Thread 1/
msn.com/en-us/news/us/…
First, the doc not great on repping protestors. Some efforts to give voice to protest, but probably not central figures. I get it - it's hard to parse, there's no "President of the Movement," and lots of folks probably didn't want to talk
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Sep 3, 2020 • 15 tweets • 6 min read
Twitter made me mad today. Must be time for an #RVAMayor Campaign thread!
Incumbent Mayor Stoney says "I choose Richmond." WTF does this mean? Lots of things. But it also suggests a campaign strategy
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Stoney's tenure has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. Before #GeorgeFloyd, it seemed the failed #NavyHill development would be the albatross that possibly ended his career. But the #BLM protests have made his re-election prospects even trickier
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Aug 13, 2020 • 7 tweets • 4 min read
Good article from @nedoliver in the @MercuryVirginia today documents state legislators' proposals for civilian police review. But it shows how law enforcement will muddy the waters to try to prevent oversight. A quick #thread 1/
Chesapeake chief Kelvin Wright opposes civilian boards with disciplinary powers. Not because they would fire bad officers - he worries boards "would be too lenient"! 2/
Aug 7, 2020 • 13 tweets • 7 min read
As #RVA works through 2 separate task forces, let’s talk about #PoliceReform, specifically Civilian Review Boards (CRBs) #RVAProtests#RVACouncil#Thread
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Original CRB: the 1948 Complaint Review Board in DC. Idea (going back to Progressive Era) is to provide oversight of police by folks from outside the corps of sworn officers. Data hard to find (and police don't like to give it)
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Jul 27, 2020 • 14 tweets • 6 min read
Saturday's #RVAprotests action has raised lots of questions about who was in charge. No easy answers, show why movement politics is so hard - for observers AND participants #Thread 1/
richmond.com/news/local/upd…
Saturday's action did not seem to be organized by folks that have been involved in RVA #BLM protests. Mostly promoted by a flyer here: (Yup - that's GOP's Todd Gilbert circulating it; apparently he is #Antifa now.) 2/
Last week, a #BLM protest march stopped in front of council member Kim Gray's house. Did this action cross a line? #RVAProtests#RVA#RVAPolitics#Thread 1/ richmond.com/news/local/ric…
Key problem: there’s no rulebook for movement action. There ARE what scholars call “repertoires of contention” – models presented by previous movement actions that current actors draw upon (only sometimes in organized way) 2/
Hey - it's ask the #RVAPolitics guy! (1st ed) @jonbecker wants to know: what's the deal with the "emergency powers" Stoney invoked to remove the Stonewall Jackson monument? (Jon's not a Stonewall cosplayer, he's just curious academic-type) No surprise, there's a rabbit hole
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Key point is as #DillonRule state, VA grants power to declare "state of emergency" to gov, not local officials. So it's all in the VA Code, not city ordinances law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title44…
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Jun 23, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
What's going on with these "unlawful assembly" declarations? We're seeing nothing more than government justify the abandonment of the rule of law. (Please indulge me in a little political theory)
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Italian theorist Giorgio Agamben has written about the "state of exception" in international politics. This is the idea going back to French Revolution, that sovereign power (gov't) can, in times of crisis, suspend normal laws/rules 2/
Jun 19, 2020 • 13 tweets • 6 min read
As a sometimes-social movements scholar, I’m struck by how little civilians understand movement politics.
Guys, it’s time for some social movement theory.
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First, know that authorities respond to movements in 2 big ways: repression (beat it down) and concessions/co-optation (defuse it/take it over), sometimes simultaneously
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Jun 15, 2020 • 18 tweets • 6 min read
What we are seeing - here in #RVA and across the country - is the unraveling of the myth of law enforcement
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slate.com/news-and-polit…
I use "myth" here deliberately, in the sense of a widespread narrative that may be grounded in truths, past or present, but becomes a part of the broader culture
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Jun 3, 2020 • 11 tweets • 6 min read
So RPD Chief William Smith is back on his bullshit about "outside influences." Don't believe it. #RVAProtest#RVA#Thread 1/11
Back at now-almost-comical press conference on Sunday morning, both Stoney and Smith pointed to conspiracy from outside #RVA - "We have people from across the country who have traveled many states to be here. We know that this is an organized effort" 2/11 wtvr.com/news/local-new…
May 31, 2020 • 11 tweets • 6 min read
It is painfully obvious from the past few days that #RVA needs police reform. NOW. #protests2020#GeorgeFloydProtests#BeyondPolicing#Thread
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Protests seem to transform police into what looks like an occupying army. The point of #BlackLivesMatter (and decades of civil rights) is that it's not transformation, but revelation: For too many communities, police are not source of protection and order but agents of fear
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The big #SuperTuesday question for me today: are polls underestimating Bernie support? Much like #BlueWave elections of past few years, Bernie is energizing youths and apolitical types 1/4
We saw this in in 2017 election for #VAGovernor - Northam cruised to a 9-point victory even though late polls showed tightened race - I wrote at the time that "no one has any idea who a ‘likely voter’ is in post-Trump America" rvamag.com/politics/opini…
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Mar 2, 2020 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
Hey Virginia – it’s #supertuesday2020 Tuesday tomorrow! Here's a quick explainer #VAPolitics#VADems #Thread 1/11
Tuesday March 3 is "Super" because 14 states, including big guns CA & TX, hold primary elections. (Plus American Samoa has a caucus.) President Trump is going for re-election, so only the Dems are having an election en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Tue…
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