The Non-Competitive House

A recent report shows 78 of 435 seats in the US House are truly competitive.

Evacuating the Afghans

President Biden has a second chance to do the right thing.

Peru to the Polls

A problematically wide-open election in difficult times.

Traffic Stops and Drawn Guns

We need to rethink traffic stops.

Biden to Name Commission on Court Expansion

Fulfilling a campaign promise and keeping the discussion alive.

Arguing Against Democracy

National Review’s Kevin D. Williamson advocates for less democracy in America.

Joe Manchin’s Weird Filibuster Defense

It doesn’t work like the movies, Senator.

Hypocrisy, Thy Name is McConnell

Another entry in the “stunning, but not surprising” category of political observations.

One More about GA’s SB202

And, really, all of this current wave of election legislation.

New York Times Style Change?

A subtle but odd change in house style for the Paper of Record

Corporate Politics in Georgia

The GA GOP is butting heads with corporations over HB202

G. Gordon Liddy, 1930-2021

The Watergate conspirator, author, and talk show host was 90.

Some Thoughts on Representation

How well do single-seat districts lead to representation? (And of what?)

Most January 6 Rioters Won’t Go to Jail

Judges are pressuring prosecutors to strike deals, most of which will be for misdemeanors.

The Rhetorical Framing of HR1

A truly silly characterization from Senator Mike Lee.

More on GA’s SB202

Georgia Public Broadcasting provides a useful list of provisions.

How to Defend Rules Designed to Make Voting Harder

An example from Dan McLaughlin of NR

Georgia Passes New Election Law

It makes voting harder.

List Of School Shootings In The United States By Death Toll

Our current forms of collective action on guns have failed us.

United States Less Democratic Than it Used to Be

Multiple indicators point to a decline in the representativeness of the American system.

Duckworth and Hirono Holding Biden Nominees Hostage

Appoint more Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Or else!

Arguments Over Definitions

The lack of common understandings and shared assumptions makes political conversations challenging.

A Key Legacy of the Trump Administration

Empowering authoritarians.

It’s the Single-Seat Districts

Our insistence on relying on an 18th Century understanding of electoral systems is our ongoing bane (if one values representative government).

The Rise of Negative Partisanship

Yes, partisanship is real. And it influences more than just voting behavior.

Today in Disingenuous Arguments for Voter ID

It really does feel like a daily occurrence.

Another Anti-Filibuster Post

Defense of the filibuster tend to be a combo of mistakes and mythology.

The Dishonesty of Restrictive Reforms

The fixes worsen the stated problem (more on Iowa and other states’ attempts to restrict voting).

Iowa Limits Early Voting

Making it harder to vote in Iowa.

Voting Legislation on Parade

HR1 is a national approach to expanding voter access. State legislatures are trying to both expand and restrict the vote as well.

HR1: Good, but Not Enough

And what GOP opposition says about the party.

This Week’s Dr. Seuss Nonsense

A story that is both unserious and yet emblematic of our age in a serious way.

A Return to the (Lack of) Evidence of Significant Fraud

A CPAC speaker and the return of the problem of the Heritage electoral fraud database.

Our Unrepresentative Government (Yet Again)

Yet another reminder about pathologies of US democracy.

[Merick Garland] [Merick Garland]

Merrick Garland Ready to Take on Domestic Extremists

The man most famous for getting screwed out of a Supreme Court seat has a more interesting backstory.

Rush Limbaugh is Still Dead

The reflections on the departed right-wing talk host continue.

Stop Blaming the Framers for Everything

America’s institutions are undemocratic but only some of them are a product of the Constitution.

Eighteen Years of Blogging

Some reflections

POTUS Should Be Just A Job

The distance in accountability between the highest and the lowest must be shortened.

A New Conservative Party?

Some marginal Republican formers are thinking about maybe doing somethingoranother.

We Are Not QAnon Nation

Most Americans have never even heard of it.

More on the Evolution of US Party Politics

Specifically: the former confederacy and Democratic dominance.

The Filibuster Needs to Go

It is not a tool to foster compromise. It is tool of obstruction, plain and simple.

Our Political Reality

Voting ourselves out of this mess is not so easy

The Pendulum Is Broken, Not Swinging

Historical precedents fall apart when we’re in a truly unprecedented time.

The Leaderless GOP

The Republican Party is not really a thing.

Burma Military Coup Ousts Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi and her top officials are under house arrest.

Speaking of Reform

Let me point you to a reform proposal.

The Centrality of Nominations

American political parties are controlled by the primaries.