Outside the Beltway

2012’s election represented a significant change in voting patterns in the United States. What’s unclear is if the change is a permanent one.

Whether in the blogosphere or on television, people are increasingly only accessing sources of news and opinion that confirm their pre-conceived ideas.

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

Presidential honeymoons aren’t what they used to be, and President Obama’s second term honeymoon isn’t likely to last very long.

Congress is historically polarized.

The next six weeks or so will see Congress once again fighting over a self-created crisis.

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

What Crist demonstrates about the US party system.

They are playing the game without rules in Egypt.

The “makers vs takers,” “the 99 percent vs. the 1 percent,” and “53 percent vs. 47 percent” memes are getting tiresome.

David Brooks tries to “describe what being a moderate means” in a way that most Americans would find puzzling.

Will conservatives freak out if Romney loses? That’s pretty much guaranteed.

The biggest surprise of the Presidential race to date is the fact that Mitt Romney has lost the edge he once had on economic issues.

The Court’s 2012-2013 term begins tomorrow morning, and there are plenty of big cases on the docket.

Mitt Romney’s “47 Percent” remarks seem to be hurting him.

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

In order to win, Mitt Romney needs the support of a large segment of the 47% of the populace he wrote off back in May.

The President and his supporters say that Congressional Republicans will temper their rhetoric in a second Obama term. Don’t count on it.

American politics has been reduced to a charade where all people do is yell at each other.

Victor Davis Hanson thinks President Obama plans to win the back the White House by alienating the white man.

If a new Gallup poll is any indication, Paul Ryan was not a great pick.

Both campaigns seem to be focusing on an argument that the voters don’t want to hear.

The recent call by many on the right for Mitt Romney to select Paul Ryan as his running mate is puzzling.

While Washington dithers, business owners are starting to worry.

Doug Saunders makes the counterintuitive claim that things are better for Britons than ever.

The President’s former Budget Director joins the ranks of those calling for Postal privatization.

There are still three months or so go. The race is incredibly tight. And, voters are starting to really dislike both candidates.

Restaurant chain Chick-fil-A is facing criticism after its President’s comments on same-sex marriage.

For some reason, George Zimmerman sat down for an hour-long interview last night.

While the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United has been blamed for the massive increase in money in this year’s campaign, it really wasn’t the culprit.

Once again people are saying that 2012 is an election year akin to 1860 or 1932. Once again, they are wrong.

The House engaged in a mostly pointless action yesterday afternoon.

The candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood is the next President of Egypt, but the political future of Egypt itself remains quite murky.

Absent something extraordinary, it’s unlikely that the GOP will lose control of the House.

We don’t know what the Supreme Court will have to say about the Affordable Care Act, but their decision is already being attacked.

Do Americans have any idea how different their lives are from the rest of the humanity?

You have Martin Luther King’s statue in your office, but you are sending these unmanned drones out, and bombs are dropping on innocent people.

Is President Obama’s announcement on same-sex marriage helping to create a change in opinion on the issue among African-Americans?

Our psychological and cultural biases make evaluating information and arguments rationally next to impossible.

Parties are in politics primarily to win the vote of the median voter, not to join together and sing Kumbaya.