On the Issue of (d)emocratic Nominations

Primaries are not all they are cracked up to be.

The Post-Trump GOP Will Not Go Back To ‘Normal’

Contrary to the hopes of some, getting rid of Trump isn’t going to purge the GOP of Trumpism.

Donald Trump And The Triumph Of The Conservative Grifters

At least some conservatives appear to finally be recognizing that their movement has been taken over by grifters and frauds. The only question is, what took them so long?

Republicans Face A Choice: Do They Support The Constitution, Or Trump?

Republicans face a choice in the coming days. Do they support the Constitution, or do they support Donald Trump? You can count on them making the wrong choice.

The Rise Of The Trumpidian GOP Candidates

Whether Don Blankenship wins or loses in West Virginia, his success is yet another example of how Donald Trump has changed the GOP for the worse.

Vulnerable Republican Senator Speculates That Justice Kennedy Will Retire This Year

Once again, there’s speculation in Washington that Justice Anthony Kennedy could retire this year.

Roy Moore’s Loss Portends New Battles In The GOP’s Civil War

Roy Moore’s loss in Alabama is bringing out into the open a civil war that has been going on for seven years now.

An Analogy on Hierarchy (and the Lack thereof) in Party Behavior

An attempt to explain the consequences of institutional design.

Is Roy Moore’s Victory The Opening Battle In A Republican Civil War?

Roy Moore’s victory in Alabama is raising fears of a wider battle in the Republican Party heading into 2018.

Steve Bannon Is Going To War Against The Republican Congress

Steve Bannon may be out of the White House, but his efforts to continue pushing President Trump, and the Republican Party, even further to the populist far-right continues.

Majority Of Americans Want The Senate To Consider An Obama Nominee To SCOTUS

Another poll shows that most Americans would prefer that the vacancy on the Supreme Court be filled by President Obama than that it be left open for the next President to fill, but other factors make it unlikely the Senate will act.

Poll: Majority Of Americans Say Senate Should Hold Hearings And Vote On SCOTUS Nominee

The American people do not seem to support the Republican position on whether President Obama’s expected Supreme Court nominee should get proper consideration by the Senate.

Americans Divided Over Who Should Name Scalia’s Replacement, Obama Or Next POTUS

Two new polls show that Americans are basically split equally on the question of who should appoint the Justice that will replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

Tea Party Support At All-Time Low, Even Among Republicans And Conservatives

A new poll shows that the Tea Party movement is more unpopular than it has ever been before, even among Republicans and conservatives.

Harry Reid Retiring From Senate

After nearly 20 years in office, Harry Reid announced early today that he would not seek reelection in 2016.

The GOP Establishment Won The Primary Battles, But They Let The Tea Party Win The War

Tea Party backed candidates may have lost most of the GOP primary battles, but they’ve won the war for control of the Republican agenda.

The Tea Party Needs To Stop Whining About Losing In Mississippi

Chris McDaniel and his Tea Party supporters are being very sore losers.

The Tea Party’s Candidate Selection Problem

From the beginning, the Tea Party has shown itself to be just plain bad at picking candidates. This year, they finally seem to be on the verge of paying for it in the GOP primaries

Are Tea Party PACs Scamming Their Donors?

Purity for profit on display.

Republicans Teaching Candidates How To Talk To Women

Much like the guy who’s afraid to talk to girls in High School, Republicans don’t seem to know how to talk to women. But their problems are actually bigger than that.

Tea Party Senate Candidate In Mississippi Has Ties To Neo-Confederate/Secessionist Group

Several conservative groups have jumped on the bandwagon of what appears to be a controversial Mississippi politician.

The Coming GOP Civil War

The shutdown debacle seems destined to lead to a battle between the Tea Party and the more business oriented elements of the GOP

Sane Republican Minority Prevails

Nearly two-thirds of House Republicans voted for default. They lost.

Time For A GOP/Tea Party Divorce? No, Time To Re-Open The ‘Big Tent’

Much like the Tea Party, David Frum wants to make the GOP tent smaller.

GOP In Good Position To Grab Senate Control In 2014

The GOP’s chances to take over the Senate became much better over the weekend.

A New Conspiracy Theory: IRS Tea Party Targeting Helped Win The Election For Obama

A new theory circulating on the right asserts that IRS targeting of Tea Party groups had an impact on the 2012 elections by diminish the Tea Party’s effectiveness. It’s mostly nonsense.

GOP Unlikely To Grab Senate This Year, But They’ll Have Another Shot In Two Years

The GOP’s hopes of taking over the Senate in 2012 have all but slipped away, but there is another option.

Republicans, The Latino Vote, And Immigration

Republicans are going to get trounced among Latino voters tomorrow, and they only have themselves to blame.

How To Fix The Republican Party

Whether Mitt Romney wins or loses, the GOP needs to evolve or be doomed to minority party status.

Clark Clifford Republicans

Have Republicans been co-opted by the Big Government they claim to hate?

Guns and Democracy

Is it reasonable to state that countries with less guns are more likely to become tyrannical than countries with more guns?

Post-Debate, Romney Is Clear GOP Frontrunner, Bachmann Surging

The race for the GOP nomination is taking shape.

One More on Palin and Revere’s Ride (and Back to the Politics of History)

Two things: 1) one of the best things I have seen on this topic and 2) and a re-iteration on what I think is the broader issue here.

Palin and History

Palin has some odd things to say about US history.

Why 2012 Republican Field is So Weak

The Republican candidates of 2012 are so weak because of GOP losses in 2004 and 2006 Senate and gubernatorial races.

Michele Bachmann Takes In More Donations Than Any Other Republican

Michele Bachmann raised more money in the First Quarter of 2011 than any other Republican. Which means that she’ll have to be taken seriously if she decides to run for President.

Cocktail Party Fallacy

Is the only possible motivation conservatives could possibly have for calling out the lunatic fringe a desire for the acceptance of liberals?

More on the Politics of Civility

More on the strategery of civility.

Civility to Republicans’ Advantage?

Now that Republicans have the House, wouldn’t they be better off playing nice?

How Not To Improve The Discourse

Yesterday, Eric Fuller, one of the victims of last week’s shooting in Tuscon, blamed Sarah Palin, John Boehner, Glenn Beck and Sharron Angle for the tragedy. Today he was arrested for making a death threat to a local Tea Party leader.

Political Vitriol and Political Violence

The relationships between inflammatory rhetoric and political violence is complicated.

Democratic Congressman Says He Will Introduce Bill To Ban “Crosshairs” Maps

The debate over heated political rhetoric has now led one Pennsylvania Congressman to suggest that some speech should be banned. This must stop now.