Outside the Beltway

The bar for defaming public officials is too high.

What if the “fake news” is really fake news?

A too-small step in the right direction.

Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion. Alas.

The pandemic seems to have broken the social contract.

Glimmers of hope for those involved in government service delivery

Aggregate self-identification doesn’t tell us much, but the breakdowns do.

Elections have consequences: Old Dominion Edition

It’s always a good idea to reread a text before referencing it, especially if you’re a history Ph.D. like Newt Gingrich

Yes the riots were a disgrace but the Democrats . . . .

Apparently, getting her elected President is not a high enough priority in the Biden White House.

It’s not compelling.

A somber thought about this present moment.

The erosion of representativeness continues.

A largely mythical beast may become even more rare.

Too woke! Not woke enough!

He beats the alternative.

Two decades after a day we’ll not forget.

The Lone Star State has enacted some peculiar new laws.

The cost of raising a university’s profile.

Magical? Impressive? Or just too much money?

It turns out a 51-50 Senate majority isn’t enough.

Most NCAA restrictions violate anti-trust law.

A pandemic and the rise of Zoom meetings unleashed an academic theory into the wild.

Or, at least, he’s willing to kill democracy in order to save it.

The post really isn’t about Sinema as much as it about a theory of poltiics.

Here we go again.

The trends over the last half century are really something.

It’s undemocratic and we should get rid of it. But doing so isn’t a panacea.

It doesn’t work like the movies, Senator.

Multiple indicators point to a decline in the representativeness of the American system.

The lack of common understandings and shared assumptions makes political conversations challenging.

Any “fair” drawing of districts will yield a GOP advantage over time.

An interesting blast from the past.

Yes, partisanship is real. And it influences more than just voting behavior.

Underplaying the value of vaccination is counterproductive.

The annual gathering showed us what the Republican Party would become years ago.

Debunking urban legends and Internet rumors is harder than it used to be.

America’s institutions are undemocratic but only some of them are a product of the Constitution.

Early analysis merely confirms analysts’ priors.

Most Americans have never even heard of it.

An opportunity for unity and a restoration of normal order.

The Republican Party is not really a thing.

Some key GOP figures are at least testing the waters.

A startling number than may understate the problem.

The story played out just as we all thought it would.

Further musings on the future of the Grand Old Party.

We won’t have Sidney Powell to kick around any more.

We may be a little closer to ending the tyranny of the Electoral College.