9 Predictions for 2016

Matt Yglesias of Vox wrote a piece titled “11 bold predictions for 2015” at the end of 2014, and though it’s already January 2, I thought it would be a fun idea to try myself this year. So here are a few (admittedly not especially bold) guesses at what will happen in 2016.

Running Commentary: House of Cards, season 3

Netflix released the third season of House of Cards yesterday. Just for fun, I thought I'd do a running commentary of my reactions to each episode along of the lines of what my friend Mark did for the most recent season of Orange is the New Black. It might a couple weeks to get through all 13 episodes (1-4 so far), but I'll get there. Don't read if you want to stay un-spoiled. 

I talked about the second season of the show on an episode of The M&M Report last year.

Kill the Filibuster or Block Everything

The silent filibuster was the bane of the liberal existence during the first two years of the Obama administration. 

Many expected that a Democratic landslide in 2008 would lead to federal action on a whole host of progressive priorities. While those two years did see an economic stimulus, health care reform, and financial regulation, all three required contentious partisan fights and huge expenditures of political capital. Legislation to address climate change, empower unions, and reform the immigration system was blocked altogether.

Electoral Reform and a Democratic House

Nate Cohn detailed on Sunday the structural disadvantages Democrats face in winning back the House of Representatives in November. Republicans are all but certain not just to retain the House but expand their majority in contrast to the competitive Senate.

That Democrats will likely struggle in 2014 is not atypical. Historically the president’s party struggles in midterm elections. But the current composition of the Democratic coalition is such that it is uniquely unsuited to success in the House. Cohn explains: