Citizens still cast ballots, but the largest political investments increasingly come from concentrated wealth. The resulting trend, accelerated by the Trump administration, is a democracy whose rules increasingly favor those who can afford to shape them. Two years ago, I was asked to make the keynote address at a conference held at the London School […]
Here are seven lessons I’ve learned about informing and persuading people without feeding fear, outrage, or exhaustion. The midterms are approaching and, regardless of our political persuasion, we all need to have ‘the conversation’ with others, family, co-workers, or friends. If every political conversation feels like shouting into the wind, it may be how you’re […]
On May 18, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared and spoke before a campaign rally in support of Republican candidate Ed Gallrein in Hebron, Kentucky. Secretary Hegseth’s appearance violated the Hatch Act as applied by clear, unambiguous and long-standing Department of Defense (DoD) policy prohibiting such political activity by DoD Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed (PAS) officials. The […]
A new book, Common Sense: Take 2, A Call to Renew Democracy, contends that the United States is confronting not simply a political crisis but a deeper crisis of democratic capacity. Written by Russ Travers, a career public servant across multiple administrations who retired as Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the book focuses […]
DATE-TIME GROUP 0707JULY26 FROM: EMBASSY OF FREDONIA, WASHINGTON, D.C. TO: MFA NAGADOCHES CLASSIFICATION: CONEOFSILENCE // FREDONIAN EYES ONLY SUBJECT: SITREP 022 “THE FREDONIA PROJECT” – OBSERVATIONAL DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA: THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE UNITED STATES PRESENTED BY US PRESIDENT SUMMARY: IN ACCORDANCE WITH MFA DIRECTIVE 1826-APRIL-1, THIS EMBASSY HAS INITIATED A […]
Trump administration explosive expansion of nation’s immigration detention system / KSAT The Court’s decision allows the government to strip legal protections from hundreds of thousands of people with minimal judicial oversight, raising profound questions about the future of constitutional due process. The Roberts Majority Re-energizes The ICE Gulag Several months ago, The Steady State published […]
In the latest episode of the Steady State Sentinel, Phillips O’Brien, Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews and one of the sharpest contemporary writers on war and strategy joins host John Sipher to argue the Iran War revealed two devastating truths: The U.S. government is strategically incoherent — it went to […]
Rebuilding democracy requires rebuilding the parties that make democratic competition possible. America’s democratic crisis is not only about polarization or personalities. It is also about the slow deterioration of its political parties. Unlimited money, technological disruption, populism, and declining public trust have hollowed out the institutions that translate citizens’ voices into effective governance. GOP and […]
The Constitution was never intended to preserve itself. Its survival has always depended upon the character of the people entrusted with it. That remains as true on this Fourth of July as it was in 1776. This week The Steady State remained dual focused: On the very real nature of America’s continuing democratic decline AND […]