The New Republic

I don't know who the Republicans are going to nominate for president in 2012. I do, however, want to take another shot at knocking down one piece of conventional wisdom as it applies to the 2012 contest: that Republicans habitually nominate whoever is next in line, which would presumably mean that either Mitt Romney or Sarah Palin will be nominated. It just isn't true, or at least it isn't true in any sense that helps us understand this election cycle. Let's go to the history. READ MORE >>

This is part three of a three-part series on the prospects for political reform in the coming year. Here are part one and part two. READ MORE >>

I assume I can’t really blame William Galston for the headline of his piece arguing that ACA sunk the Democrats, but while the article happily doesn’t use the word “proof”, it is at any rate not a conclusive argument. The real answer, I’m afraid, is that we don’t know the effects of health care reform on the elections. READ MORE >>

This is part 2 in a three-part series on the prospects for government reform in the coming year. Part 1 ran yesterday. Ah, here we go. This is what everyone wants to hear about, especially liberals. Are we in for a reformed Senate in 2011-2012? READ MORE >>

The big news about Congressional reform lately has been over on the Senate side, but I’ll remind everyone that Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein’s The Broken Branch, published just before the Democratic sweep of 2006, probably spent more time on the House. Will House reform return? READ MORE >>

Excellent post over the weekend from Matt Yglesias, one that I hope doesn’t get lost because it was over the weekend, and because there’s a lot going on in just a few paragraphs. You’re most definitely going to want to Read The Whole Thing, but I want to talk a bit about the really startling point he makes at the end. READ MORE >>

Two quick notes, one from each party and one from each chamber: First, I recommend an excellent post by Matt Yglesias about the relative lack of importance of Mitch McConnell in the new scheme of things. The only thing that I'd add is that the press generally overrates the importance of Senate party leaders to begin with, so start with that, and combine with what Yglesias says about the partisan context, and there you have it.  READ MORE >>

I recommend to all Democrats a manifesto from Ed Kilgore, James Vega, and J.P. Green, which recognizes how likely it is that Democratic factions will turn on each other in a self-destructive frenzy and urges them not to. It’s an excellent piece, although I’m tempted to add a little “good luck with that” sarcasm. Will Rogers, and all that. READ MORE >>

There are two types of explanations for what happens in elections. One is an honest attempt to figure out exactly why elections turned out as they did. For those, there’s no need to rush to judgment. I’ll refer you to Brendan Nyhan’s quick analysis, but with all due respect to Brendan, we’re going to learn more as we go forward. READ MORE >>

Here’s something for election eve. We’re about to put a new set of politicians in office, and we’re going to hear a lot about two things: the party swing, and the oddball winners. They’re both good stories, and should be covered. But we’re going to hear a lot less about the overall quality of the newly elected pols, and why that even matters. READ MORE >>