Outside the Beltway

Taxpayer “watchdog” groups are urging House Republicans to cut Congressional pay as an act of symbolism. It’s symbolism all right, pointless symbolism.

The Federal Reserve is injecting $ 600,000,000,000 into the economy, primarily in the hope that it will boost stock prices and, in turn, the economy. It might work, but if it doesn’t the consequences could be severe.

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.

Last night’s election results stand as a mixed verdict on the Tea party and its impact on the Republican Party.

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg thinks a President independent of either political party would be a good idea. Is he right?

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

Political columnist John Heilemann thinks he’s come up with a scenario that would put Sarah Palin in the White House, but his assumptions don’t add up.

A call for ideological purity in the Democratic Party in today’s New York Times demonstrates that Democrats can be just as foolish as Republicans.

It’s looking less and less likely that the GOP will gain control of the Senate, but they’re going to come awfully close,, and that might be just as good from their point of view.

Politico says 99 Democratic House seats are “in play.” They’re not. But dozens are.

Will a Republican-controlled Congress bring about the third Presidential Impeachment in American history? Jonathan Chait thinks it’s virtually certain that it will, I’m not so sure.

Arnold Schwarzenegger predicts President Obama’s re-election. Historically, that’s the safe bet.

Thomas Friedman engages in some early speculation about a serious third party presidential run. As usual, such speculation ignores the basic structures of American politics.

White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is leaving his job at week’s end to run for mayor of Chicago.

Could Mike Pence make the leap from the House of Representatives to the White House ? It’s possible, but history and the likely GOP field in 2012 suggest it would be very difficult.

The winners of state legislatures in November will have a great deal of influence over Congressional elections for the next decade. Should it be that way?

David Frum assesses the current state of right-of-center think tanks and the significance thereof.

Another political analyst is out with a 2010 prediction that should make Democrats very nervous.

Senate Republicans want to rethink the 14th Amendment’s automatic citizenship for people born in the U.S.

Despite facing a thirteen-count ethics complaint, Charlie Rangel probably isn’t going anywhere.

It was another bad day for Charlie Rangel, but something tells me he’s going to be just fine.

Much to the disappointment of Ezra Klein and others, it’s unlikely that Democrats will have the votes necessary to change the filibuster when the 112th Congress convenes.

Daniel Schorr’s journalism career ended far too early, lasting a mere eighty-one years.

If Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann gets her way, the 112th Congress will feature a lot of committees “investigating” the Obama Administration.

Senator Robert Byrd has died at 92, after years of poor health.

Contrary to popular belief, Adolf Hitler didn’t come to power by democratic means or because of his ability to whip the public into a frenzy.

Americans on both sides of the aisle throw around words like “tyranny” and “fascism” about our system. But there are constant small reminders we are under the rule of law.