Outside the Beltway

Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans truly represent most Americans. Fixing that is exceedingly unlikely.

The Commonwealth’s undemocratic political system is, shockingly, unrepresentative of the will of its people.

Greatest democracy in the world, right?

Our system lacks accountability.

A bloc of moderates is not coming to a Senate near you.

SLT guests on Peaceful Political Revolution in America to talk American democracy.

The effective number of parties.

This time: some multi-party examples.

Counting is not necessarily as straightforward as it may seem.

Assessing her actions in 2018 in light of 2020 and onward.

Politicians controlling lines control voters (instead of voters controlling politicians).

Our system and the shaping of the GOP’s future.

The erosion of representativeness continues.

The electoral calendar affects who the electorate is.

Voters are suppose to choose elected officials, not the other way around.

The Politician’s Syllogism rears its ugly head.

Thoughts on how we think.

The Lone Star State has enacted some peculiar new laws.

It hasn’t changed in over 100 years (but the population sure has).

The College Republican National Committee Chairman elections shows the lessons taught by the national party.

Put the frustration where it belongs.

You know, some light weekend thoughts.

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

A damning number.

The saga continues.

Looking to Federalist 22.

I think this underscores the problem with the 60-vote requirement.

Assessing Republican strategic positioning (and the incentives in our system).

More voice, more votes, more representation.

With an appearance by Caitlyn Jenner’s choice of party.

A recent report shows 78 of 435 seats in the US House are truly competitive.

National Review’s Kevin D. Williamson advocates for less democracy in America.

How well do single-seat districts lead to representation? (And of what?)

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

Empowering authoritarians.

Our insistence on relying on an 18th Century understanding of electoral systems is our ongoing bane (if one values representative government).

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

It is not a tool to foster compromise. It is tool of obstruction, plain and simple.

Voting ourselves out of this mess is not so easy

Let me point you to a reform proposal.

Will there be in-fighting? Yes. A break-up? No.

That’s unpossible!

Some Republicans are doing their jobs.

But, still very bad.

Gridlock doesn’t mean government stops. It just shifts who is governing.

How the EC affects our thinking.

What meanings might the Founders have had? How should we understand the term?

If we embrace the Founders to justify the present, let’s think about what we are doing.

I couldn’t help myself.

Having the topic of political reform start to seep into pop culture is a good thing.