From Esquire, a look at the 10 best and 10 worst members of Congress. Louis Fisher on her book On Appreciating Congress: The People’s Branch. Think Congress finally started functioning? Think again: Ezra Klein on the end of the "do-something" Congress. From TAP, Mark Schmit on the "F-You" Election: Progressives lost this election — but conservatism is hardly stronger for their success; and majorities don't last forever: The Democrats shouldn't act defeated. Mark Morford writes a letter to a whiny young Democrat: "You made it all happen. Or rather, you failed to prevent it from happening, by not voting". From Alternative Right, evil, or rather, the Evil Party, was justly punished; at the same time, let us be under no illusions about the Stupid Party (and more). The Audacity of Nope: John Boehner seeks to ride the Tea Party wave, and may point to an ugly future. How the Republican Congress will abandon Tea Party ideas and legislate toward the center. Why the Religious Right will dominate. The Sore Winners: Will America's super minority sink us all? And is there any reason to be optimistic about economic policy in a GOP Congress? It's not the end of the world: We can survive a Republican Congress. No need for soul-searching: Democrats don’t need to turn left or center — they just need to fight. An interview with Rep. Alan Grayson: "Bipartisanship has become code word for appeasement". Democrats didn't lose the battle of 2010 — they won it. The failures of the two parties to achieve the dominant status has been due in large part to their basic character. Paul Waldman on how Congress became polarized. William Galston on why a hyper-polarized party system weakens America’s democracy. Those who argue that gridlock is a good check on partisanship haven't examined its policy consequences. Americans hoping to triangulate their votes to chart a course between the extremes of ideology find their representatives are sailing even faster to the fringes. Rage, powerlessness, magical thinking — why is how we think about politics increasingly mirroring the mind-set of a small child? Adam Przeworski on his book Democracy and the Limits of Self-Government.
