Outside the Beltway

There are very rational reasons behind the current gridlock on Capitol Hill.

It’s no wonder partisans can’t agree with each other when they can’t even agree what the facts are.

There’s no doubt about it, our political culture is pretty horrible.

American politics has been reduced to a charade where all people do is yell at each other.

We have met the enemy, and it’s most likely us.

Restaurant chain Chick-fil-A is facing criticism after its President’s comments on same-sex marriage.

Absent something extraordinary, it’s unlikely that the GOP will lose control of the House.

Vetting, media bias, and a passing swipe at the war on terror.

Recall elections in a hyper-partisan atmosphere are not a good thing.

Why have so few Republicans stood up to condemn Allen West?

Disturbingly large percentages of Republicans still don’t think the President was born here.

American politics is as polarized as ever, and it shows no signs of changing regardless of who wins in November.

The first year of the 112th Congress has set a new record for futility.

Huntsman’s tactics reinforced his fellow Republicans’ natural skepticism of his candidacy.

Many people seem to have a rather inappropriate view of their relationship to the President of the United States.

How did Republicans get in this mess?

My latest for The Atlantic: “Some Reasons Not to Worry About Republican Foreign Policy Craziness”

Are America’s political parties become irrelevant?

Giving the President the unchecked power to kill American citizens raises some serious red flags.

What are the contours of “mainstream” religious thought in today’s America?

The world is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Rick Perry will need to get past Michele Bachmann before he takes on Mitt Romney. But, really, how hard could it be?

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

The debate over “enhanced interrogations” has been renewed by the bin Laden mission, but whether it “worked” or not isn’t the question.

With all the birther talk these days, it’s probably time to question whether we even need the “natural born citizen” rule anymore.

Public disclosure of campaign contributions makes it easier for incumbents to pressure backers of their opponent.

There is a problem with political rhetoric in this country, but telling people to be nicer to each other isn’t going to cool it down.

There’s a lesson to be drawn from the tragedy in Arizona, but it isn’t the one the media is talking about.

The tragic shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others in Arizona has started another debate about political rhetoric. It’s a stupid debate, and it’s utterly pointless.

The abuse of the filibuster is just a symptom of a much wider problem.

Another FBI sting operation results in the arrest of a “terrorist,” or did it create a crime where none existed before?

Former Senator Alan Simpson is fighting back against the critics on the left and the right who are shooting down the Deficit Commission’s plan before it’s even been released.

Mitch McConnell made clear today that he’s targeting Barack Obama for defeat in two years.

Political pundits love centrism and moderate candidates. But political movements are built on desire for broad change.

Is angry and violent language which dominates blog comments sections a sign of broader trends in our political culture?

Today’s college students are 40 percent less empathetic than they were thirty years ago. Is our political culture to blame?

Andrew Breitbart is still patting himself on the back for a job well done in the Shirley Sherrod affair. In reality, he failed miserably.