Outside the Beltway

While Matt Yglesias is right that talk about “Realignment” after a single election is ridiculous, there have indeed been realigning elections in U.S. history.

The growing number of cell-phone-only households gives Democrats hope that the polls are undercounting them.

We’ve been talking about the 2010 elections since, oh, the day after the 2008 elections.   Now, it’s time for final predictions.

Yes, I think that Palin is running in 2012.

Charles Murray argues that the Tea Party is right to complain about out-of-touch elites.

The Tea Party movement doesn’t seem to have a coherent view on foreign policy. Which means that a Tea Party victory will just mean more of the same Republican neo-conservatism.

While the displacement of poor blacks from their neighborhoods by affluent whites may be lamentable, it’s better than the alternatives.

Will Digital Video Recorders kill the campaign commercial? Unfortunately, no.

High earners are going to have to pay more than our fair share of the costs of government to make things work. But how we frame the debate matters.

“Those who doubt that the failings of higher education in America have political consequences need only reflect on the quality of progressive commentary on the tea party movement.”

The “Ronald Reagan” that many of today’s conservatives wish today’s Republicans were more like didn’t actually exist.

Lots of jobs that existed in recent memory — secretaries, travel agents, gas station attendants, cashiers — have been replaced by technology. The middle class may be disappearing with them.

Changing economic realities led to a role reversal: television is where you turn for smart entertainment, whereas the movies have become lowbrow.

The most congested part of DC was shut down at the most inconvenient time possible last evening so that President Obama could attend a partisan political event. It’s a routine outrage.

Greg Mankiw argues that, the more of his money the government takes, the less incentive he has to earn more. That’s debatable.

Experts say 80% of all alcohol sales go to people with drinking problems. The mathematics of that are staggering.

If the Republicans win back Congress in November, it will be largely unearned. But that doesn’t mean that there’s no incentive for change in American politics.

Mohandas Ghandi pioneered the idea of non-violent resistance, but there are times and places where non-violence is little more than a ticket to a death camp.

Pakistan yesterday blocked NATO’s primary supply line into Afghanistan in retaliation for an air strike that killed three Pakistani paramilitaries. Are the two countries truly allies?

Has modern life robbed America’s youth of their ability to think? Or simply caused them to think in different ways about different things?

Support for the Tea Party is at record levels but that movement does not have a coherent policy platform. Can the energy be harnessed to good use?

A third of the Forbes 50 were born billionaires. Does that mean the game is fixed?

Do those who succeed in our economy benefit unequally from the benefits of government?

Most voters want their representatives to take a stand.

Can OTB build a better $500 computer than PC World? Let’s find out…

The super rich have a lot larger share of total income than they did a generation ago. Are they taking it from the rest of us?

Yes, the Tea Party is popular compared to the Democrats and Republicans.

Is our problem that the very rich have too much money? Or that the rest of us don’t have enough?

A renowned sports economist argues that black quarterbacks are treated differently than their white counterparts.

Ted Koppel thinks our actions since 9/11 have helped Osama bin Laden fulfill his goals. He couldn’t be more wrong.

Comments sections on larger blogs seem inevitably to turn into cesspools. Is it worth trying to stop it happening?

Both the Constitution and the Federalist Papers, impressive as they are, must be understood in terms of not just applied political philosophy, but practical politics as well.

Is our Federal system a mere political compromise? Or were the Founding Fathers visionaries with a plan?

The world’s smartest scientist says there is no god. Or, at least, no need for one.

Civilian control of the military means, oddly, that civilians control the military. And it means precisely that the military does not get to decide which civilians run the country.

If Republicans stick to their current (apparent) game plan and just run on not being Democrats, they will have neither a mandate to repeal Obamacare, et al, nor the will.

Sarah Palin has done pretty well at helping Republicans win primaries this year, but her own political popularity isn’t any better than it was after she left office last year.

Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” rally raises, yet again, the tiresome fight over crowd estimates and their political significance.

The Army and its officer corps are becoming increasingly Southern and rural. Is this a bad thing? If so, what can we do about it?

Why would returning to the system of allowing state legislatures to choose Senators improve representation?

The only reasons Michael Kinsley can conjure for opposing the Park51 project are bigotry and political opportunism. Unless you’re a really smart columnist.

Glenn Greenwald argues that the “Ground Zero Mosque” debate is about more than just a “mosque” near Ground Zero. He’s right, but that also means the debate is likely to get uglier.

Yes, when you blame one group of people for the actions of other, especially irrationally so, that qualifies as scapegoating.

The competition for 25 Greatest Americans was steep. Only 3/4 of Mount Rushmore made the cut.

What do the critics mean when they say that the United States should be more like Germany?

Free parking is a very inefficient use of land resources that wouldn’t exist without government mandates and subsidies. Is it time to end the practice?

The GOP is playing a dangerous game with the anti-Islamic rhetoric that it seems to be courting these days.

If you think Jimmy Carter is the Worst Figure in American History, you really need to read more.

A helpful guide to the pleasures of navigating our nation’s capital by car, bike, or foot.

Every new report out of Iran seems to bring us closer to the moment when Israel has decided it’s heard enough. What happens if that day actually happens ?