## Notes from 29 October 2025 [[2025-10-28|← Previous note]] ┃ [[2025-10-30|Next note →]] The [New York Times reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/us/politics/searchlight-institute-democrats.html) on a new Democratic think tank: the [[Searchlight Institute]], founded by [Adam Jentleson](https://x.com/AJentleson). $10 million annual budget, backed by [[Stephen Mandel]] and [[Eric Laufer]]. The media coverage focused on the culture war angle - Jentleson's critique of "the groups" (ACLU, CAP, climate and LGBTQ organizations) pushing Democrats toward electorally toxic positions. That's generating the most heat, predictably. But what caught my attention is that state capacity is explicitly part of their agenda—and they've brought on [[Marc J. Dunkelman]] as Senior Policy Fellow. Dunkelman's _[Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/714882/why-nothing-works-by-marc-j-dunkelman/)_ is essential reading on American institutional sclerosis. His core argument: the accumulation of procedural safeguards, veto points, and stakeholder requirements (each individually defensible) has collectively paralyzed executive capacity - so the government can't build, can't approve, can't act.