Outside the Beltway

Let’s see if there is evidence to support the assertion.

The bloom is off the rose for some of the President’s most ardent 2008 supporters.

The White House is still smarting over the fact that they got burned by John Boehner, again.

A political scientist whose formula has correctly picked every presidential winner since 1984 says Barack Obama will be re-elected.

We often conflate intentionality with design. However, even designers may not fully understand how what they have created will work.

The US came a lot closer to something resembling a parliamentary system than most people think.

House Republicans are being criticized for utilizing a tactic they learned from Senate Democrats.

The reviews are in on the debt negotiations, and the public isn’t happy.

Michael Cohen argues that our system is broken because Republicans will no longer compromise.

Once again, the debt ceiling deal is raising questions about the President’s leadership.

Much like bills named for dead children, there’s a very high likelihood that any bill with “protecting children” and/or “pornographers” in the title is a) a very bad idea, b) a very stupid idea, c) of dubious Constitutionality, or, as here, d) all of the above.

The Senate killed the Boehner Plan but the debt ceiling crisis is still unresolved and the way out is murky.

How the reelection incentive and parliamentary procedure are affecting the debt ceiling debate in Congress.

It’s another Friday of drama in the debt ceiling crisis.

John Boehner’s debt ceiling plan is being amended. And not in a good way.

The main problem remains the House.

Steven Metz muses, “Scholars argue that too much political mobilization can make democracies dysfunction. Is that where the US is today?”

European leaders have put another Band Aid on the Greek sovereign debt crisis while America’s leaders are trying to stave off a self-inflicted financial default.

Speculation about Michele Bachmann’s health continues.

Freshman GOP Representative Allen West is a loose cannon and unfit for office.

Moody’s is on the right track. The current debt ceiling law has done more harm than good.

The House GOP has scheduled a vote next week on a debt ceiling package that is solely designed to mollify the base.

Should we assume that a deal will eventually be struck and simply stop paying attention to the debt ceiling debate?

President Obama has walked out of negotiations on the debt ceiling with an agreement is nowhere in sight.

More than any other time in the past, the GOP is now firmly under the control of its most conservative members.

House and Senate Republicans are pushing a Balanced Budget Amendment. It sounds like a good idea, but it isn’t.

If the U.S. defaults, Eric Cantor will make some money.

The odds of history are against Michele Bachmann.

Congress had a chance to send a strong message to the Executive Branch today. They failed.

Contrary to what Senator McCain, seeking realism in military policy does not make one an isolationist.

The vast majority of the seats in the Virginia legislature will not even be contested this November.

The Obama Administration tells Congress that it doesn’t need to comply with the War Powers Act because the Act does not apply to the mission in Libya.

Will last night’s debate have any influence on the potential candidates who weren’t there?

Cynthia Tucker regrets her support for majority-minority districts.

The House of Representatives has voted 416-5 for a resolution prohibiting President Obama from sending ground troops to Libya

It’s just one Congressional District out of 435, but that won’t stop everyone from trying to turn the results in NY-26 into a national referendum on Medicare reform.