Outside the Beltway

A book could be written on this subject, but let me suggest the following as a good place to start

Of the institutions designed by the Framers, the electoral college is the one that deserves the least amount of defense if one’s defense is predicated on assumptions of the genius of said framers.

Why even have an electoral college?

Allocating Electoral Votes by Congressional District is an idea whose time has come.

Republicans have a plan to wrest half of the Keystone State’s electors from Obama.

Oz provides an excuse for some comparative politics.

Madison argued that the people were the ultimate authority.

No matter how weak he becomes, no President will ever be completely irrelevant to the political process.

Many seem to forget that it was the states that had to ratify the 17th Amendment.

Let’s see if there is evidence to support the assertion.

What does the apparent outcome of the war in Libya mean for the so-called “Responsibility To Protect” doctrine?

WaPo humor columnist Gene Weingarten doesn’t think DC’s speed cameras are funny.

Did Speaker Boehner insult President Obama by snubbing his speech request? If so, so what?

We often conflate intentionality with design. However, even designers may not fully understand how what they have created will work.

Madison went to Philadelphia wanting to increase the power of the central government over the states (quite a bit, in fact).

Political journalists aren’t like you and me. Well, you, anyway.

The US came a lot closer to something resembling a parliamentary system than most people think.

Is America’s political system to blame for our current problems?

My first piece for CNN has been posted at Fareed Zakaria’s Global Public Square.

In the book he released last year , Rick Perry advocated far reaching changes to the Constitution.

Sarah Palin’s paranoia about the media was on full display during her recent visit to Iowa.

Iraq has become so dependent on Iran for its survival that it is endorsing the brutal tactics of Bashar Assad.

Presidents are not a powerful as they seem (and a return to the “are things broken?” theme).

A political science-y response to the question of whether the system is broken.

Will the trial of Hosni Mubarak actually change anything?

The world is starting to denounce the crackdown in Syria, but the reaction seems unlikely to go much beyond strongly worded statements.

Michael Cohen argues that our system is broken because Republicans will no longer compromise.

Condi Rice’s speechwriter thinks Huntsman can appeal to the Tea Party.

Now that America’s political leadership have probably averted a self-inflicted global economic calamity, it’s time to assess the winners and losers.

A recent poll provides some insight into congressional behavior.

How the reelection incentive and parliamentary procedure are affecting the debt ceiling debate in Congress.

The constitutional purists in the Tea Party apparently do not understand either bicameralism nor separation of powers.

Charles Krauthammer claims we are in the midst of a great debate. I am not so sure.

A European anti-Muslim blogger observes, ‘It is clear that Anders Behring Breivik is one of us.'”

Steven Metz muses, “Scholars argue that too much political mobilization can make democracies dysfunction. Is that where the US is today?”

Yes, the President is a key actor in the debt ceiling debate. However, the actual decision is a congressional one.

Does the 10th Amendment contain the answer to the same-sex marriage debate? Not really.

European leaders have put another Band Aid on the Greek sovereign debt crisis while America’s leaders are trying to stave off a self-inflicted financial default.

Talk of passing a balanced budget amendment is nonsense.

Illegal immigration from Mexico is down substantially, and it has nothing to do with all those anti-immigration laws.

Another major campaign finance case from the Supreme Court.

Sunday afternoon musings on an electoral college sweeps.