Against the Grain
kellyjohnstonExplaining things about history, politics, policy, culture, and food that the media can't, or won't.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Twice weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 740 | Founded | 5 years ago | Last Issue | 6 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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kellyjohnston.substack.comLatest Issues
One Party, Under Trump, Indivisible
It wasn’t always this way. An endorsement from President Donald Trump (or, former President during those intervening four years) wasn’t necessarily a path to victory, either for the GOP nomination or especially the general election. Just as...
What the Virginia Gerrymander Decision is Really About and Why We All Should Care
It qualifies as national news, given the mid-census gerrymanders we’re seeing across the country this week - Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, and God knows where else.
For the record, let me restate this with apologies to any long-time reade...
Recommended Graduation Speakers. . . and Speeches
May and early June are the times for college and university graduations. And that includes graduation speeches. And if you’re attending one for a child, grandchild, family member, or friend, enjoy the occasion. They’re almost always fun.
A...
Take Me Home, Country Roads
One consequence of a hard-fought, very close election is blame-gaming.
Take the case of Virginia’s extreme gerrymander referendum, which passed by the narrowest of margins on Tuesday, 88,218, out of over 3 million votes cast. “Yes” forces...
Earth Day 2026: Cause for Celebration, not Extremism
I asked several AI platforms to craft a 750-word essay on why the environment is better this Earth Day than it was on the first Earth Day, April 22, 1970. Claude, Anthropic’s new system, produced the best one, but it has a few biases. Here...
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| Subscribers | Engagement | 75 | Monthly Web Visits | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accepts Sponsors | Estimated Cost per Ad | ||||
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
Blogger at Against the Grain. Former food lobbyist, Secretary of the US Senate and congressional staff veteran, former GOP campaign operative involved in 35 campaigns in 25 states, and ex-newspaper editor and state capitol news correspondent.
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