polarization - Red, Blue & Real

Fifteen States Against Citizens United

2026-05-07 by Laurel Fitzhugh

This article was originally published on Red, Blue & Real, the author’s Substack publication. The version below includes sources and further reading.

Two Doors for Money Into Politics

Money in politics is a classically American conflict. In 2010, business interests gained an entirely new level of legal power. The change was not simply more money. It was a different kind of money, operating under different rules, in quantities that made the previous system look small by comparison.

Two federal court rulings that year dismantled major parts of a century of campaign finance law. One allowed corporations to spend directly on elections. The other created the super PAC system — unlimited independent spending, unlimited contributions, no effective ceiling.

The results reshaped American politics. Outside groups spent roughly $4.5 billion in the 2024 election cycle.⁵ Super PACs alone raised more than $5 billion.⁵ Dark money — political spending that does not disclose its original source — reached record levels approaching $1.9 billion.⁸

Fifteen states have now developed a legal theory intended to close the corporate spending door. The super PAC door is another matter entirely.

Fear as Civic Control: What I Learned From Examining My Own Constraints

2026-04-062025-12-15 by Laurel Fitzhugh

I thought I was wrestling with an ethical dilemma about my research methods. Turns out I was actually responding to manufactured fear designed to keep people silent. Here’s what I learned about how fear operates as civic control—and what changes when you examine it.

Fear as a Civic Force: Manufactured Polarization Shapes Political Behavior

2026-04-152025-12-09 by Laurel Fitzhugh

I would have sworn that I wasn’t intimidated, but I learned that I was wrong. Polarization today is shaped by systems that amplify fear and narrow participation in public life. This article looks at how those signals influence ordinary behavior. A personal evaluation restored my sense of freedom.

CONTENTS: The Ethical Dilemma → The System We Live In → The Shift → Fear as a Civic Force → Fear’s Authority → Agency

The Manipulation Machine: How Technology, Inequality, and Polarization Threaten American Democracy

2026-03-042025-06-19 by Laurel Fitzhugh

Introduction

The United States faces an unprecedented crisis. For eight consecutive years, the Economist Intelligence Unit has classified America as a “flawed democracy” rather than a full democracy, with the nation’s democratic institutions under sustained attack from multiple directions. The United States has been rated a “flawed democracy” by the Economist Intelligence Unit since 2016, reflecting declining trust in media and institutions, political gridlock, and sharp inequalities that threaten the foundation of democratic governance.

This crisis stems from a complex interplay of technological manipulation, economic inequality, and political polarization that has fundamentally altered how Americans receive information, form beliefs, and interact with one another. AI has opened a potential propaganda gold mine. Large language models like ChatGPT can learn to mimic human speech, while algorithmic systems designed to maximize engagement have created information environments that exploit human psychological vulnerabilities. The result is a population increasingly divided against itself, unable to agree on basic facts, and vulnerable to manipulation by those seeking to consolidate power and wealth.

Understanding this threat requires examining three interconnected phenomena: the technological infrastructure that enables large-scale manipulation, the economic forces that benefit from societal division, and the democratic breakdown that results when citizens lose faith in shared institutions and common ground.

The Weird Cycle: How America drifted from revolutionary self-governance to media spectacle

2026-03-052025-05-31 by Laurel Fitzhugh

The Weird Cycle

How America drifted from revolutionary self-governance to media spectacle—and how we can return to our founding principles

The Revolutionary Promise

When the founders declared “We the People” as the source of legitimate government power, they weren’t just rejecting King George III. They were making a radical claim that ordinary citizens could govern themselves without aristocrats, priests, or kings telling them what to do. This was a revolutionary reimagining of human possibility.