Outside the Beltway

Short-term politics and long-term harm.

The second won’t be so fortunate.

And linkages to broader US politics.

Even incredibly abnormal Presidents are Presidents.

We’re all apes. And some are willfully stupid about their public duties.

Prosecutors want rioters to pay for it.

We need what we aren’t going to get.

My contribution to a continuing debate.

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

Could this be the straw that broke the camel’s back?

A powerful symbol has been robbed of its significance.

A serving officer was arrested for his part in events of 6 January

The latest front on the war on truth.

Republicans who admit Joe Biden won the election fair and square are being driven from the party.

It’s harder than a looks, especially given the limited size of the problem.

New screening procedures follow a Department-wide stand-down.

And, really, all of this current wave of election legislation.

A loon wolf terrorist who followed Louis Farrakhan was responsible.

There’s a right way and a wrong way to improve the system.

Judges are pressuring prosecutors to strike deals, most of which will be for misdemeanors.

Reflections on the events of 6 January two months later.

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

The distance in accountability between the highest and the lowest must be shortened.

Details of a heated phone discussion with the top House Republican have emerged.

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.

Mitch McConnell is testing out his spine again.

Historical precedents fall apart when we’re in a truly unprecedented time.

The man still can’t get out of his own way.

The pivot point in the impeachment charges: two hours of silence.

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

The aftermath of the January 6 Capitol riots runs into the First Amendment,

You can’t make this stuff up.

Some of the Capitol rioters were much more dangerous than others.

The 45th President will go down in infamy, setting a record that’s unlikely to be broken.

Some key GOP figures are at least testing the waters.

The #3 Republican in the House will vote to impeach.

The New England Patriots coach lived up to the team nickname.

There are multiple ongoing plots and reasonable fear of infiltration of security forces.

Here we go again.

A one-time denizen of Blogger’s Row at CPAC has come a long way.

“Trump is a failed leader.”

The live coverage of Wednesday’s assault on American democracy underplayed its seriousness.

As we assess Trump’s role in all of this, it is important to think through what he did (and did not) do.

There’s a word for people who use outrageous violence to terrorize.

Hashtag: You’re Fired.

Trump’s lack of fealty to truth and reality gives supporters an out (if they choose it).

A large, well-trained police force was unprepared for a foreseeable crisis.

The predictable, indeed inevitable, has happened.