By the Numbers

If you tend to think about politics in an almost exclusively ideological fashion, that is, whether or not this or that candidate, proposal, or policy, are conservative or liberal enough, then you might want to take a look at this piece by Michael Barone. The party that ends up with an elected majority that can actually govern is a product of more than just which ideology is currently resonating with the public. Structural issues like demographics and, as Barone points out in the piece, the relative concentration of party voters in each congressional district is also a factor. Anyway, take a look. Yea, they're numbers, but they're not scary.