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Purity Tests and Political Reality

Demanding total purity from candidates isn't moral seriousness—it’s a misunderstanding of how power works.

Kristoffer Ealy's avatar
Kristoffer Ealy
Jan 01, 2026
∙ Paid
Illustration by Riley Levine

I want to start this by being clear about something that should not be controversial, but often is online: political scientists are not all experts in the same things.

Like most scholars, I have specific areas of focus. Mine are political behavior, political psychology, American government, and the First Amendment. That’s wher…

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Kristoffer Ealy's avatar
A guest post by
Kristoffer Ealy
Political science prof & political psych nerd. Writes about groupthink, power, & American nonsense. Sometimes funny on purpose. 📬 professorealy.substack.com 🐦 kmezdoesit.bsky.social
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