What Next: Gabrielle Giffords’ Resignation
With Gabrielle Giffords’ resignation today, it looks like Arizona’s 8th Congressional District is up for grabs. Though Governor Jan Brewer has 3 days to announce a special election, the… Read More
Santorum: Insider v. Reformer(?)
This is a dichotomy Sheryl Gay Stolberg presents in her recent article at the New York Times. Santorum’s career, according to the article, spanned from freshman reformer to leadership… Read More
Super Committee Agrees On One Thing: John Kerry Talks Too Much
A little bit of super committee satire courtsey of pardonthepundit.com. My favorite part: “Look, I like John. He’s a friend, but when you get him talking about government spending… Read More
In Defense of South Carolina: Institutions Matter
We all know the story of the 2000 Republican presidential primary in South Carolina. John McCain won New Hampshire by double digits, leading a massive increase in campaign donations, campaign volunteers… Read More
The Cordray Appointment and Congress’s Crisis of Legitimation
Last week Richard Cordray received what the White House called a “recess” appointment to serve as director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (side note: during break I was… Read More
People know why the Senate is Weird, Quick Hit Style
We’re swinging back into a semi-normal routine after vacation. If you haven’t already read the BE Press Forum on the Senate, it has several very solid articles from… Read More
Congressional Salary = Congressional Disapproval?
Aaron Blake (aka The Fix) at Washington Post recently wrote about congressional disapproval with respect to member salaries. It’s an interesting take but I have a couple points to… Read More
Should Ron Paul “Pray for Rain” on the 3rd?
A common elections adage is that Republican candidates should “pray for rain” on election day. The logic is that rain suppresses voter turnout among unlikely voters (who, in turn, disproportionately identify as… Read More
Unfairly picking on Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein wrote a article about “No Labels,” a non-partisan group dedicated to “Not left. Not right. Forward.” I don’t have a qualm with either the group’s objective or… Read More
Budget Process Improvement Act of 2011
A new bipartisan budget reform proposal is out. My representative sent this most recent bill to my email labelled as a plan to fix the budget process. Representatives Daniel Webster… Read More