Outside the Beltway

Discussing the filibuster.

A pandemic and the rise of Zoom meetings unleashed an academic theory into the wild.

You know, some light weekend thoughts.

Well, nothing of course.

An interesting but uneven debate.

Is a de minimus standard too small?

There’s a right way and a wrong way to improve the system.

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

The U.S. Senators and a U.S. Representative beg to differ.

Yet another reminder about pathologies of US democracy.

Debunking urban legends and Internet rumors is harder than it used to be.

An opportunity for unity and a restoration of normal order.

Biden’s America is a place and idea in which the trappings of empire or glory are ephemera in comparison with perennial human relationships—families; friendships; communities; schools; neighbors; partners.

The absurd notion that the President of Senate is the arbiter and judge of the electoral vote.

The science and ethics are not the hardest part of determining who should go first.

The GOP is behaving exceedingly irresponsibly. Senator Graham and Representative Collins are prime examples.

After weeks of evasion, the frontrunner hints at a compromise policy.

Trump’s favorite pollster has some bad news for him.

A game wherein one team has to score more points to win than does the other.

Our screwy electoral system requires thinking about screwy scenarios.

Media bias is real, but it isn’t what many claim it to be.

Is shunning those without college degrees the last acceptable prejudice?

Joe Biden’s running mate will be highly scrutinized. What’s fair game?

Some incredibly thin reporting about a story that is almost certainly made up.

The President didn’t want to hear about bad behavior from Moscow, so he wasn’t told.

As the President becomes less popular, there are signs he’s losing support from his co-partisans in Congress.

Decades of reform efforts have failed. Is it time for a radical solution?

The preliminary hearing revealed a damning case against the shooter of a young black man.

How to translate understandable frustration at injustice into tangible reform?

The President has been Twitter on their own platform. Now, he’s following through.

Jo Rae Perkins may be a nut, but she won a four-person primary.

He’s doubling down on hypocrisy.

Cable news “experts” frequently aren’t.

Critics of the modeling and of the data analysis are being too simplistic.

Unprecedented spending since leaving City Hall has put him in a unique position.

Tweets aren’t policy, unless they are.

A recurring source of friction in the OTB conversation.

The caucus tallies are so riddled with errors that the DNC is calling for a recount.

The real scandal isn’t the price tag but the beneficiary.

He’s tanned, rested, and ready. But it ain’t happening.

Continuing a discuss from below.

Kamala Harris didn’t fail because of her race, she failed because she was a bad candidate.

After a two-year investigation, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice found no basis for the conspiracy theories being pushed by the Republicans regarding the Russia investigation.

Andrew Yang is upset about the fact that he’s largely being ignored at the Democratic debates. He’s right, but that’s at least partly his fault.

An internal Justice Department investigation fails to find any evidence of political bias in the Russia investigation.

A conservative columnist explains how once-Republican states are switching sides.

The man who sparked the investigation into the President’s illegal conduct has been outed in a futile attempt to discredit it.

The officer involved in the shooting death of a woman in Fort Worth, Texas has been charged with murder.

Thinking about support for Trump and considering how recent events may influence that support.

More on rules and how they matter (plus issues of representation).