Outside the Beltway

As I have noted before: party trumps institutional pride. The Barr testimony is just another example.

Did I leave the Republican Party or did it leave me? Both.

A new poll shows that a majority of Americans say they won’t vote for President Trump in 2020. but that’s only half the battle for Democrats

A new poll shows President Trump struggling against four of his potential 2020 challengers. Should Republicans be worried and Democrats elated? It’s too early to tell.

Ballot measures across the country would deny access to those who refuse to release tax returns.

Not surprisingly, Donald Trump fears former Vice-President Joe Biden the most of all the Democrats currently running against him.

Trump campaign officials are worried about the President’s chances of holding onto a state that was crucial to his win in 2020. They should be.

Larry Sabato lays out a quite plausible path.

Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts is the latest Democrat to enter an already crowded field.

Some say yes, others no.

Donald Trump speaks largely just to his base, ignoring the nation as a whole. Whether this will be enough to win re-election in 2020 is an open question.

A lesson from Puerto Rico and further reasons why the EC is a problem.

Very little of our vast landmass is densely populated with humans.

Princeton historian Sean Wilentz lays to rest a pernicious idea propagated by . . . Princeton historian Sean Wilentz.

Scholars argue that the shifting media landscape is largely to blame for our political crisis.

It’s the battleground states that are the issue, not small states v. large states.

Ultimately, it isn’t a very good one.

Some basics on the US party system.

Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton makes an argument familiar to OTB readers.

For their 2020 convention, Democrats are headed to the Midwest.

It’s been a rough two years under Trump, but America’s institutions are surviving.

A second Federal Judge has found that the Commerce Department violated the law when it moved to put a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census form.

Reason’s Nick Gillespie makes an interesting case but I don’t buy it.

Based on his job approval numbers, President Trump could face an uphill battle in 2020.

The Supreme Court will hear a case dealing with a challenge to the Commerce Department’s decision to put a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census.

There is a bit of a disjuncture between the terminology and the reality (but that does not excuse Trump’s current actions).

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld is preparing for a primary challenge against Donald Trump. He won’t win, but he could still have an impact.

Bret Stephens on Howard Schultz

…there is only one plausible pathway to get there.

Two more defections from the stable of writers at RedState provide further proof of the extent to which conservative media has become a pro-Trump echo chamber.

The way we elect Presidents make it unlikely that a third-party candidate like Howard Schultz could ever actually win the the Presidency.

Starbucks Founder Howard Schultz is considering an independent run for the Presidency. This would likely be good news for President Trump.

Don’t expect the Congress (i.e., the Senate) to pull us out of this shutdown mess.

The latest entry in the unity third party presidential candidate genre is just as bad as they always are.

He says he won’t announce anything until after the start of 2019, but Joe Biden is sure sounding like a guy who’s running for President.

Some examples from 2018 of the problems with single seat districts.

Sherrod Brown pulled off the only statewide Democratic victory in Ohio on November 6th. Because of that, he’s being looked at as a potential 2020 candidate for President.

Once again, Republicans in California find themselves looking up and seeing a lot of desolation. They need to find a way to bounce back.

Trump, Scott, and their allies are not doing America any favors.

The NYT is trying to start a conversation.

The emergence of a silly talking point.

In addition to winning back the House, Democrats also made gains in Governor’s races.

Faced with the probability of losses today, President Trump is already getting ready to blame everyone but himself.

Is it too much to ask for truth about basic facts from the White House Press Secretary?

America’s tradition of unlimited free expression increases the danger of violence.

Minority rule and self-reinforcing cleavages are not a a healthy combination.

We should take Congressional officers out of the line of succession.

A new round of Congressional Ballot polls seems to put Democrats in a strong position for the ‘blue wave’ they’ve been hoping for all year.

New polling seems to show a significant shift toward Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.

With just 72 days to go until Election Day, the chances that the Democrats will take control of at least one chamber of Congress are looking quite good.