Outside the Beltway

Roberts may not like it, but SCOTUS is political and does have a legitimacy problem.

More details from the Alaska special election.

No one should draw conclusions about RCV from the AK special election.

A repeat of 1860 can’t happen. But something even worse could.

American parties are coordination problems with shared branding.

Is it time to call the whole thing off?

“America can survive the demagogues themselves, it’s their audience that will kill us.”

Are plurality winners less legitimate than popular vote losers?

A theory floated in Bush v Gore could radically change American elections.

What should conservatives who can’t support the party of Trump do?

More intraparty support numbers.

Assuming they had the votes, should Democrats carve out yet another exception?

Here we go again . . . .

How long can the unsustainable be sustained?

This will just reinforce minority rule in the US.

They’re taking their eye off the ball.

The obstacles to fixing the problem are many.

Ezra Klein discusses the dynamics of American conservatism in historical perspective. Plus, he helps illustrate a key problem that we have in thinking about American politics (IMHO).

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

The apparently eminent demise of abortion rights has reignited an old debate.

When doing the right thing is the wrong thing.

A follow on from yesterday.

The incumbent should win easily but turnout is low and the consequences dire.

More willingness to subvert the election.

A former Virginia police officer has been found guilty, partly on the testimony of a former colleague.

A key planner of the Capitol riot has agreed to testify against others in exchange for a lighter sentence.

Magically mobilizing nonvoters isn’t going to happen (but it sounds nice, I suppose).

His conversations with lawyers about stealing the election are not protected by privilege.

The Court is out of balance–and it is a design flaw.

Antiquated counting methods lead to misallocation of resources.

He’s tanned. He’s rested. Is he ready?

The former President should have known that his claims of election fraud were baseless.

The 45th President is unlikely to face Federal prosecution but state and civil suits are not going his way.

Doing the right thing on 1/6/20 doesn’t absolve him of being a key Trump enabler.

Did the President exceed his mandate? Does it matter?

We deserve better.

It doesn’t add up.

A year after the Capitol riot, DOJ is coming after the most violent perpetrators.

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

A necessary but likely irrelevant gesture.

A roundup of reflection on a somber anniversary.

The head of the House investigatory committee seems to think so.

Shockingly, they’re not remotely equivalent.

We’re likely to see more instances like the Capitol Riot and the Kyle Rittenhouse shootings.

Barbados provides an illustration of a frequently misunderstood concept.

Will America re-elect an 82-year-old to the White House?

Senator Romney and the latest edition of the senatorial pro-filibuster op/ed.

A vague but inflammatory report sheds little light on the situation.

We’re an incredibly divided country but splitting it into two is impossible.