Outside the Beltway

Why blaming “the Democrats” or even “leadership” ignores a basic fact of American politics.

What the shutdown should have been about.

Not so much.

A dramatic escalation of the standoff.

Trump’s personal lawyer, and man accused of telling DOJ lawyers to ignore court orders is now a federal judge.

Things are not operating as Madison intended.

Spinelessness isn’t permanent.

A major unforced error has apparently been reversed.

Senate Republicans are balking at several measures, but fixing those would make passage in the House impossible.

The prize: sick and dead US children

Beware the Ides of March.

Just beyond parody at this point.

Yet again, too little, too late.

In which I agree with Trump about the problem, but NOT the solution

Could Democrats replace their oldest Justice before it’s too late?

House Republicans still can’t get out of their own way.

Much ado about nothing?

A hypothetical spoiler for 2024? (Stress on “hypothetical”).

Electoral Count Act reforms are “hidden” in the bipartisan budget bill.

Congress is poised to legislate protections previously mandated by the courts.

What should be the bar? Can it ever be reached?

Concerned no more, Senator Collins is now dismayed that she was misled.

The most expansive firearms legislation in decades is likely to become law.

Susan Collins and other Senators claiming otherwise are just wrong.

At least not right away. But it’s quite possible by 2040.

The Senator from Maine once against demonstrates that she shouldn’t be prognosticating about people’s future actions.

It’s Manchin-approved.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

And yes, it is political (and always has been).

The 46th President will follow the lead of the 40th in making a historic appointment.

What happens if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v Wade?

Every now and again, it’s not Mitch McConnell’s fault.

Why oh why won’t people stop commenting on the lady Senator’s outfits?

Tip O’Neil’s famous saying hasn’t been true in a long, long time.

They shall not submit to blackmail!

It’s not perfect but it beats our usual approach to picking winners and losers.

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

The country is in peril.

An over-eager supporter or something more sinister?

The GOP is actually pretty healthy at the moment, despite some public rhetoric to the contrary.

The President used his first speech to Congress as an attempt to unite the country.

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.

Is the stimulus bill it for this administration?

The Senate’s last conservative Democrat is taking President Biden’s call for unity seriously.

Early analysis merely confirms analysts’ priors.

And illustrations of the fact that this isn’t a regular trial.

Most agree that it was good theater. But it’s not clear what they’ve proven.

As expected, the second impeachment trial of the 45th President will proceed.

The legal debates are unsettled but we can all agree that Rand Paul is a moron.