Outside the Beltway

Some questions to consider as you evaluate congressional leadership.

And what it means for 2024 and beyond.

Don’t let pundits spin too many fantasies.

The light at the end of the tunnel is a train.

How party change actually works in the US. Plus more on messaging and organzing.

Grumpy old man grumps about democracy.

We need to be focused on the system, not fantasies about messages and organization.

Lack of understanding and poor institutional design=bad political outcomes.

Democrats are considerably less happy with their party than are Republicans.

Thoughts and photos from downtown Montgomery, AL.

And why I think future presidents will use the powers that Trump has demonstrated exist.

Stephen Miller’s words at the Kirk memorial.

Democratic leadership still keeps playing normal politics in times that are anything but.

Blowing up boats because they might have drugs on them is not justifiable, legally or morally.

A shocking, but not surprising, event. I fear it’s a harbinger rather than an outlier.

Stephen Miller and Fox News.

A list of words and who actually uses them!

Are Democrats triggering voters by pushing the Overton Window on language, thereby subverting norms and creating barriers to participation?

The disconnect between perception and reality about elections.

None of this is good for the quality of our democracy (not that it was great to begin with).

Thinking about the evolution (or is it devolution) of the GOP since the 1990s.

Colbert asks Harris a question about leadership.

Tit-for-tat is maybe good power politics, but is any of this good for democracy?

Thoughts on the election and on the electoral rules used.

Over-reading the NYC mayoral primary.

Democrats are mostly condemning it and Republicans are divided.

The information bubble is real.

He’s clearly using the standoff with the White House to elevate his national stature.

Half the counties in America have moved more Republican in each of the last three elections.

Hint: another variables may be the key.

Is it time for the Democrats to move to the center?

Non-college-educated White men remain happy.

A reminder.

The polls are showing a really weird dynamic.

An OTB example to illustrate a larger problem.

Sad and strange circumstances have forced the Democratic party to become the conservative party now. It’s important to remind ourselves of what is good in our lives and what is worth defending. 

Waiting for the other side to self-destruct has always been ridiculous and dangerous.

The postwar era may have ended yesterday.

A symbol of party and person, not of country.

An observation or two.

America’s 39th President, and greatest ex-President, is gone at the ripe old age of 100.

But reports are he will leave office “early.”

Some context.

Breaking News

Some sense of proportion would be nice.

Plus some discussion of identity politics.

One thread that runs through most explanations for Tuesday’s result.

It’s Liz Cheney’s fault!

Trump’s voter fraud allegations have melted away.

Not a Red Wave but a Red Shift?