Outside the Beltway

Thinking about wildfires and electoral politics.

A pleasant surprise.

A party-line vote may scuttle mail-in voting in a crucial swing state.

What is more concerning, speculation and war games, or the words of POTUS?

Our screwy electoral system requires thinking about screwy scenarios.

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

Yet more flouting of the rule of law by the Trump administration.

Anonymous bullshit from the New York Post.

Some recommended reading.

The Republicans are putting on quite a show.

An appeal to some pretty basic virtues.

The official campaign to oust Donald Trump is off to a good start.

Institutional reform is necessary, but we can’t accomplish much in the face of tribalism.

Ok, so what should change?

The convergence of design flaws in the constitution and a flawed leader have brought us to brink of an electoral crisis.

This is not even close to the worst it’s ever been.

My latest for Defense One.

We’ve removing mail sorting machines just in time for mail-in voting.

A quick overview and some examples to start a longer conversation.

What would a reborn GOP look like and who would vote for it?

The Russians are at it again, with the cooperation of the Trump administration and its enablers.

The National Security Advisor to Presidents Ford and GHW Bush has died.

The AG is Trump’s lawyer, not ours.

McConnell and McCarthy both reject the notion of a delay.

Trump’s irresponsibility continues.

It’s just not immediate.

Could a blue state governor be the future of the Republican Party?

States can punish Electors who substitute their judgment for those of the voters.

The Natanz fuel enrichment site has been seriously damaged.

It creates a veto gate that they are almost guaranteed to control when they need it.

Those who wish to vote for Tommy Tuberville or Jeff Sessions will have to walk to the mailbox.

An ad boycott has the Facebook co-founder down to his last $82.3 billion.

The Administration has done nothing about intelligence reports of a grave escalation from Moscow.

Whether the 26th Amendment precludes giving preferential treatment to the elderly will have to wait for another day.

Joementum.

Something significant was going to happen to Tulsa. Who could have predicted a genre shift?

We’re unlikely to know who wins the November elections right away.

An amazing statement from Bolton’s book.

Always look for evidence.

The GA14 House race.

The Economist gives Joe Biden an 83% chance to win the Electoral College.

The vagaries of our Presidential election mechanism gave us a surprising result in 2016. That’s unlikely this year.

If the goal is to change politics, not just vent frustration, messaging is important.

Hypocrisy, lies, and dangerous rhetoric from Trump and his allies on mail-in voting.

This is more about structural conditions than it is about the GOP.

The conversation continues. (Warning: it is over 3000 words).

A further attempt to explain how party is such a key variable.

What if instead of the unit rule, states doled out electoral voter based on the proportion of votes each slate of electors received?

SCOTUS and “faithless electors.”

An irrelevant judicial order is being enforced for no apparent reason.