Alan Elrod

Arkie. Anti-Dirtbagist. President & CEO, Pulaski Institution. Columnist & Contrib. Editor, @LiberalCurrents.com

Words: @thebulwark.com, @ms.now, @foreignpolicy.com, @theunpopulist.net

Writing a book (Broadleaf)

Go Knicks
He/Him

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Last Notes

2026-08-13 06:03:23 UTC

I wrote about Big Bend, the power of nature, and the Trump administration’s assault on our national imagination.
www.liberalcurrents.com/trumps-desec...
Trump’s Desecration of Big Ben...

2026-08-06 06:02:39 UTC

One aspect of the parasocial style in American politics is a fixation on heroes and villains. The former are taken as both our best friends and invincible, infallible giants. The latter are made out to be shadowy adversaries in league with the devil himself.
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-parasoci...
The Parasocial Style in Americ...

2026-07-29 19:53:05 UTC

Folks I grew up in the evangelical South and was maybe the most known liberal on my conservative Christian college’s campus.
If you think hurling lib at me as an epithet is going to break the skin, you’ve got another thing coming.

2026-07-27 16:43:45 UTC

An excellent deep dive by @gregsargent.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy and @polphilpod.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy into Musk’s Economist interview and the fascist worldview behind his claims
newrepublic.com/article/2135...
https://porcini.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:hafxlnw235qrcil2lpohp2ly&cid=bafkreibhei3vxaxwjub4h7ldycj4zezavh4oyljxqagyjxp5tavrqxqeoa

2026-07-25 06:08:37 UTC

History isn’t just a set of facts. It’s a story we tell about who we are.
My contribution to Odyssey discourse is about how the American right wants a history where only white men feature because they want a future where only white men rule.
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-new-vand...
The New Vandals

2026-07-17 06:10:39 UTC

For my column this week, I wrote about Lindsey Graham. But really, it’s about all of us and the million little deaths of liberty our republic has suffered.
www.liberalcurrents.com/liberty-and-...
Liberty and Death: Lindsey Gra...

2026-07-16 21:35:29 UTC

I keep hearing about how the poor training of ICE agents led to the recent killings. But as I argued for @ms.now@bsky.brid.gy after the Renee Good murder, it isn’t really about training. It’s about what DHS is designed to do now.
www.ms.now/opinion/ice-...
Opinion | ICE's violence is no...

2026-07-10 18:33:06 UTC

The obsession with child trafficking is itself about a kind of ownership. “Our kids” are being threatened and taken. The sanctity of white, conservative America is being violated by predatory liberals and minorities
#nevent1q…uptu

2026-07-10 06:04:49 UTC

In the wake of the birthright citizenship decision, I decided to examine some of the ways the American right talks about and treats children.
I think it’s hard to conclude they cherish children quite as much as they say.
www.liberalcurrents.com/what-to-the-...
What, to the MAGA Right, Is a ...

2026-07-08 18:19:37 UTC

8 months ago
#nevent1q…dxnn

2026-07-06 19:57:42 UTC

I’m reposting both of these today for the very obvious reason that a lot of important pols and commentators simply refused to acknowledge the obvious issues with Platner. And some even reveled in them.
www.liberalcurrents.com/graham-platn...
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-men-defe...
Graham Platner and the Class P...

2026-06-29 21:31:26 UTC

It’s extremely Arkansas that we have a sports betting company running ads that are basically just “don’t use those other betting apps! They’re carpetbaggers.”

2026-06-29 21:27:46 UTC

Paraguay’s play today against Germany is showing that the USMNT win was not a joke. Germany dominating possession and should find a way, but a good reminder that Paraguay is here to play.
#WorldCup #WorldCup2026

2026-06-25 06:04:39 UTC

I wrote about the continued appeal of dirtbag politics, from the left to liberals, and how only a politics of grace and edification can save our liberal democracy
Dirtbagism delenda est
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-dirtbags...
The Dirtbags Won’t Save Us

2026-06-16 16:20:35 UTC

“Maybe talks eventually lead to a deal involving nuclear restrictions and sanctions relief, but that’s unlikely since Trump lacks credibility. And even if there is one, it will almost certainly achieve less than JCPOA.”
Great piece from @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy
#nevent1q…7nyz

2026-06-12 19:13:28 UTC

I can’t recommend this @dombon.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy piece for @thebulwark.com@bsky.brid.gy enough. A disturbing look at a new leading figure on the Christian right.
www.thebulwark.com/p/meet-the-m...
Meet the Millennial Pastor at ...

2026-06-11 06:39:05 UTC

Graham Platner is a dilettante adventurer reaping the benefits of both a privileged upbringing and his (unearned) image as an average working class man.
I wrote about how these converge to grant him impunity
www.liberalcurrents.com/graham-platn...
Graham Platner and the Class P...

2026-06-07 06:54:54 UTC

Klippenstein still at it over on Twitter / X
Even if this voter is saying this, I simply don’t consider Platner’s issues to be rough around the edges stuff. And Ken is clearly not at all shamed by the latest revelations, as he’s still sharing his lol Pete Buttigieg has no genitals essay.
https://porcini.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:hafxlnw235qrcil2lpohp2ly&cid=bafkreianckkbkrnazjuvzkvyrf26isctezkl5jmp3dwkenyktgztz5qlyu
https://porcini.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:hafxlnw235qrcil2lpohp2ly&cid=bafkreibfhf4rtqt2sqawy4l3pw3mn2lsvuq4rpbrgqxucdt66wr2ukg7ym

2026-05-14 15:07:32 UTC

A phenomenal breakdown of the bias in how the NYT treats the Trump family’s corruption vs how it has treated Democrats in the past
#nevent1q…6qsa

2026-05-14 06:27:28 UTC

Democrats need to understand we’re already in a revolutionary moment.
The American republic built in the 60s and 70s is being swept away by Republicans and the Supreme Court. It’s up to us to fight for a liberal democratic future.
My latest:
www.liberalcurrents.com/democrats-ne...
Democrats Need to Realize What...

2026-05-13 18:33:10 UTC

What is the purpose of a life together? Surely it’s about the soulful rewards of time and companionship?
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Single women are buying more h...

2026-05-07 06:01:10 UTC

I wrote about how parasociality invades our political lives, from Trumpism to the KHive to Will Stancil discourse.
I hope you’ll give it a read
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-parasoci...
The Parasocial Style in Americ...

2026-04-30 14:14:12 UTC

When I was in junior high, the Klan pamphleted on my town square. This was in the 21st century.
The Supreme Court’s decision this week to gut the Voting Rights Act treats the Civil Rights Era like the distant past.
But it’s not. My column:
www.liberalcurrents.com/the-supreme-...
The Supreme Court Delivers Ano...

2026-04-22 14:44:54 UTC

I wrote this essay a few months ago. It’s too unfocused, meandering, and imperfect for professional publication. But there are ideas in it I really wanted to get into the world.
It’s about AI, social media, loneliness, and the crisis of civic life.
open.substack.com/pub/alanelro...
Pure Imagination: Projection, ...

2026-04-16 12:24:25 UTC

I think there are two key takeaways for Americans from Peter Magyar’s ouster of Orbán:
1. We must rally overwhelmingly behind the 2028 Dem nominee
2. We have to be ready to send people to prison if we win
My latest for @liberalcurrents.com@bsky.brid.gy www.liberalcurrents.com/two-lessons-...
Two Lessons from Hungary for 2...

2026-04-11 20:34:57 UTC

May 8-9. Charlottesville. $0.
@jamellebouie.net@bsky.brid.gy @andreapitzer.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy @sarahposner.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com@bsky.brid.gy @schaller67.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy @roberttalisse.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy @bernybelvedere.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy @hollybfletcher.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy
& more
www.pulaskiinstitution.org/events/for-g...
For Good Conference — The Pula...

2026-04-10 12:42:53 UTC

It’s been a dark week. Our president is mentally and morally deranged. But the truth is we put him there.
In this moment, Americans need to face hard truths. And that’s what Jimmy Carter tried to offer back in 1979. Maybe this time, we’ll listen. My latest:
www.liberalcurrents.com/after-a-dark...
After a Dark Week, Americans S...

2026-04-07 23:06:10 UTC

We can’t unring the bell of an American president threatening to do genocide

2026-04-02 19:38:06 UTC

This is a great piece and a great comp
#nevent1q…2qu4

2026-04-02 12:33:22 UTC

Male supremacists Joel Webbon and Wesley Todd want women to “shut up.”
I wrote about this and the abuser politics on the right.
www.liberalcurrents.com/abuser-polit...
Abuser Politics: Christian Mal...

2026-04-01 16:27:11 UTC

I am adopted. Like many adoptees from my era and before, I have no information about my biological parents and access to my original birth certificate.
This is my contribution to the birthright citizenship debate:
www.liberalcurrents.com/adoption-bel...
Adoption, Belonging, and the Q...

2026-03-27 19:15:09 UTC

The fact that “character attacks are not persuasive anymore” is at the heart of our present crisis in this country.
https://porcini.us-east.host.bsky.network/xrpc/com.atproto.sync.getBlob?did=did:plc:hafxlnw235qrcil2lpohp2ly&cid=bafkreidalnees7nn7hhpdi7gyotlehlbh3c2bnkxjgxcr6lau64qva6nqy

2026-03-26 13:26:37 UTC

With another No Kings coming up, a reminder that irony and coolness will never save us. Cringe is good. www.liberalcurrents.com/cringe-is-go...
Cringe is Good, Earnestness is...

2026-03-25 22:39:02 UTC

“But would Iran want to end the war now? In hard power dynamics, this is the strongest position the Islamic Republic has ever been in, the most leverage they have over the United States since the 1979-80 hostage crisis.”
Must-read analysis from @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy
#nevent1q…u0gk

2026-03-19 13:39:55 UTC

Slopulism–and all populism, really—is terrible for democratic politics.
But I won’t condescend to anyone by pretending individuals don’t have agency. We re-elected Trump. We have to live with that. www.liberalcurrents.com/iran-slopuli...
Iran, Slopulism, and the Etern...

2026-03-05 14:12:37 UTC

Trump and his ilk are positively obsessed with bodies—with their mangling, their alteration, their sexuality, and their destruction.
I wrote about it for @liberalcurrents.com@bsky.brid.gy
www.liberalcurrents.com/pervert-poli...
Pervert Politics: Trumpism’s B...

2026-03-01 15:38:02 UTC

“The most relevant question is “will this use of military force make things better, enough to be worth the death and suffering it’ll impose?””
@nicholasgrossman.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy with a must-read today at @liberalcurrents.com@bsky.brid.gy www.liberalcurrents.com/internationa...
International Relations Is Not...

2026-02-26 14:21:59 UTC

What we saw Tuesday night from the Republican Party was the legislative counterpart to what ICE is doing in the streets. Bullying. Menacing. Illiberal.
The party is just a fascist gang.
www.liberalcurrents.com/trumps-state...
Trump’s State of the Union Rem...

2026-02-25 03:55:08 UTC

I actually think the behavior of the Republicans in the audience has been more noteworthy than Trump’s speech itself.
The braying, boorish jeers and yawps of a party fully given over to fascism.

2026-02-25 02:15:13 UTC

Look, it’s incredibly far down the list, but what a pathetic thing to have this narcissist’s free-associating, fascist grandpa rhetoric ring in our 250th year

2026-02-09 21:33:40 UTC

So I just listened to @ariberman.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy articulate the same theory @jvl.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy has: that there’s a real chance the Trump admin is going to lean on Maduro or offer him some sort of deal to say Venezuela did interfere in the 2020 elections.
open.spotify.com/episode/1cPG...
Trump Starts the Steal

2025-10-29 13:27:58 UTC

One of the most redeeming things about primaries is that they’re an early test of candidate quality, from skeletons in the closet to raw skills. Even the most generous observer would have to concede that Platner just isn’t a top tier candidate.

2025-03-31 11:59:44 UTC

I wrote about the Kristi Noem’s El Salvador prison video and its relationship to the horrific practice of lynching postcards. Read at @liberalcurrents.com
www.liberalcurrents.com/kristi-noem-...
Kristi Noem Made A Lynching Po...