Outside the Beltway

As usual, an attempt to explain congressional behavior brings us back to the issue of our basic institutions. The way we elect congress matters.

There are growing signs that the Deep State is seeking to thwart legal orders from President Trump. This is dangerous.

Defying the odds, Republicans held on in several traditionally Democratic states to keep control of the Senate.

President Obama’s final State Of The Union Address was largely a recognition of the fact that his time on the world stage is quickly coming to an end.

The Supreme Court has accepted for appeal a Virginia case that deal with the issue of using race and politics as a basis for drawing district lines.

A 1980 debate between Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush shows a different GOP.

SCOTUS has upheld the use of election commissions to draw Congressional district lines.

The latest Census data show a changing America.

In a marked departure from recent cases, the Supreme Court rules that states can impose significant restriction on solicitation of campaign contributions in judicial elections.

The Supreme Court seems likely to strike down state laws that take redistricting completely out of the hands of state legislatures.

Some on the left are suggesting Democrats should write off the South for the foreseeable future, but that would be as foolish as Republicans assuming that their dominance in the region will last as long as Democratic dominance did in the century after the Civil War.

Despite conventional wisdom, there remains little incentive for the GOP to change its position on immigration reform.

My ongoing crusade to spark thought and discussion on the quality of representation in the US Congress.

A Federal Court has given legislators in Richmond a complicated job.

There are plenty of other factors that help our two major parties retain power.

Recent anti-corruption measures have contributed to making American government worse.

To borrow a phrase from Stephen Colbert, if you want to understand how Congress works, you better know a District.

With just hours to go, the Republicans on Capitol Hill seem prepared to take a big political risk.

Americans tell pollsters that hate Congress, but they never seem to do anything about it.

The Supreme Court today struck down the most controversial part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The GOP seems to be making the same mistakes that led to defeat in 2012.

As of today, John Dingell has been a Member of Congress for 20,997 days, a new record. That’s not something to celebrate.

Because sometimes poorly contructed observations can set a fellow to writing.

Ezra Klein argues that the voters already decided how the sequestration fight should play out.

Some proposed reforms just need to be ignored.

Representative democracy is a process of delegation of power to agents who act on behalf of citizens. The process of delegation matters.

There are very rational reasons behind the current gridlock on Capitol Hill.

If you’re a Member of Congress, the odds are pretty good that you’re going to stay one.

Democrats are approaching an “Electoral College lock.” Republicans are trying to pick it.

There’s no doubt about it, our political culture is pretty horrible.

It isn’t just President Obama who should be worried about the economy next year.

While Gerrymandering Congressional districts to benefit incumbents and the dominant party in the state legislature is an old game, they play it with especial intensity in Illinois.

Cynthia Tucker regrets her support for majority-minority districts.

Can a candidate appealing enough to the base to win the Republican nomination beat Obama?

While Republicans will likely take over some key governorships and state legislature after November’s midterms, America’s changing demographics will limit their ability to gerrymander safe districts.

Ron Paul’s newsletters are proof either that he’s a racist or a fraud.