Outside the Beltway

The white, Southern Democrat is a dying breed.

As the counting of write-in ballots in Alaska continues to go in Lisa Murkowski’s favor, the Miller campaign is getting more desperate in its ballot challenges.

There are grumblings from within the Democratic caucus in the House that Nancy Pelosi may not be the best choice for Minority Leader. Unfortunately for Democrats, though, they don’t seem to have a viable alternative at the moment.

According to reports, the Obama Administration is set to abandon the July 2011 withdrawal deadline that was set earlier this year.

There’s a move afoot to postpone the election of the House Democratic leadership. Why should people who were defeated in the recent elections have a say? And, surely, those just elected should have a vote.

Joe Miller is suing to ensure that only write-in votes that correctly spell “Lisa Murkowski” count rather than allowing voting officials to guess at voter intent.

The New York Times has joined the mostly muted chorus calling on Democrats to select someone other than Nancy Pelosi as their new Minority Leader. In all likelihood, their call will go unheeded.

Republicans are making some big promises to try to lure West Virginia Senator-elect Joe Manchin to cross the aisle.

Virginia Senator Jim Webb is the last of a dying breed of Democrats, but his party may need him if it wants to remain competitive anywhere outside of a Blue State.

NYT columnist Nick Kristoff says America’s income inequality makes us a banana republic.

When conservatives start attacking one of their own for pointing out the obvious, you really have to wonder if they want to win.

They’ve won the elections, but Republicans still aren’t getting specific about exactly where they’d cut Federal spending.

As impressive as Republican gains in this week’s elections were at the national level, they were even more so in state legislative races. Which means Republicans are in position to consolidate and expand upon their recent gains.

During the just concluded election season, eleven self-funded candidates spent a total of $ 286 million trying to win elections. Only two of them actually won.

He’s the darkest of dark horses right now, but Gary Johnson stands as the heir apparent to Ron Paul’s surprisingly energetic 2008 run for the GOP nomination.

Nancy Pelosi is strongly considering staying in Congress as Minority Leader. It’s her job if she wants it.

A longish NYT postmortem titled “Democrats Outrun by a 2-Year G.O.P. Comeback Plan” attributes Tuesday’s Republican victories to a January 2009 PowerPoint presentation. But structural factors were more important.

If you believe that the United States is built on Judeo-Christian principles, why would you oppose the redistribution of wealth?

Congressional Republicans and President Obama both held press conferences today that included talk of bipartisanship and working together. Don’t believe it.

Three of the Justices who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in Iowa have been removed by the voters. That strikes me as the beginning of a dangerous trend.

Rasmussen polls were biased toward Republicans by 3 to 4 points. Rigged results? Or screening error?

George W. Bush’s new memoir reveals that he briefly considered replaced Dick Cheney as Vice-President before the 2004 elections. His decision not to do so reveals much about the relationship between Presidents and Vice-Presidents in modern American politics.

The 2010 electorate was whiter, older, and more conservative than that of 2008.

While Matt Yglesias is right that talk about “Realignment” after a single election is ridiculous, there have indeed been realigning elections in U.S. history.

The British press takes a look at America’s Midterm Elections.

If the polling is anywhere close to accurate, a Republican wave will come crashing down today, repudiating the first two years of the Obama administration. What does it mean?

Pundits and partisans constantly overreact to the momentary mood expressed in a single election. The Republicans have already rebounded from 2008. The Democrats will recover from 2010.

The GOP is headed for big gains on Tuesday. The only question now is how big they’re going to be.

A News Corporation donation to a group opposition a ballot initiative in California is casting doubt on the objectivity of reporting at Fox Business Channel

With polls opening in less than 48 hours now, the final pre-election polling is showing that 2010 is going to be a pretty bad year for Democrats.

The growing number of cell-phone-only households gives Democrats hope that the polls are undercounting them.

215,000 people attended the “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear” compared to 87,000 for “Restoring Honor.” Even if you believe the numbers, they don’t tell us much.

The Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear ended up having a point after all, but it’s not one that anyone is likely to take to heart.

Another poll confirms that Sarah Palin continues to be viewed negatively by the majority of American voters, but that doesn’t seem to matter to supporters who seem have a degree of adulation usually reserved for celebrities than serious politicians.

We’ve been talking about the 2010 elections since, oh, the day after the 2008 elections.   Now, it’s time for final predictions.

The Alaska Supreme Court has approved the state providing a list of certified write-in candidates to voters who ask for help.