Outside the Beltway

With Congress set to come back from its recess, attention is once again turning to the race for Speaker and one Paul Ryan, Congressman from Wisconsin.

If pre-election polling is to be believed, Stephan Harper and Canada’s Conservative Party seem likely to lose power after Monday’s elections, but there are several reasons why this may not end up being the case.

After complaints from several campaigns, and threats of a boycott by the men at the top of the field, CNBC and the RNC have agreed to some rule modifications for the upcoming Republican debate.

Donald Trump is threatening to boycott the next Republican debate if there aren’t format changes. The GOP should call his bluff.

Another Republican Congressman has said that the Select Committee investigating the Benghazi attack is primarily concerned with scoring political points against Hillary Clinton.

Ben Carson will spend most of October on a book tour rather than campaigning for President. Further proof that he is not a serious candidate despite his standing in the polls.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders may think otherwise, but many Americans do care about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while Secretary of State.

The plan to withdraw nearly all American forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2016 is being put on hold.

Donald Trump and Ben Carson are still the top two candidates in the GOP race, while Chris Christie and John Kasich appear to be in danger of being relegated to the “KIds Table” debate at the end of the month.

In addition to doing everything she needed to do last night, Hillary Clinton also destroyed whatever logic remained for a Joe Biden candidacy.

There were five candidates on the stage. Only two mattered.

With the first Democratic Presidential Debate just hours away, Hillary Clinton got some good polling news from Fox News Channel.

A Dutch inquiry has largely confirmed what was widely believed about the fate of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17.

Paul Ryan has yet to say if he will run for Speaker of the House, but that hasn’t stopped the opposition on the hard right from forming already.

From now on, you’ll just have to read it for the articles.

While Donald Trump and Ben Carson have slipped somewhat in the polls, they both continue to lead the GOP field while Marco Rubio shows signs of breaking out of the middle of the pack.

When may I shoot a student?

California has become the second state to provide for automatic voter registration for all eligible voters when they obtain or renew a driver’s license.

Rand Paul’s flailing Presidential campaign seems to be raising concerns about his Senate seat among some Republicans.

In the wake of failure that could have been easily foreseen, the Obama Administration is ending a program to train so-called “moderate” Syrian rebels.

Paul Ryan is getting pressure from all sides to get into the race for Speaker Of The House.

While a brilliant and accomplished man, he’s absolutely clueless about politics and world affairs.

Yes, Ben Carson’s comments about the debt ceiling are silly, but it’s the fact that a lot of Republicans agree with him that’s dangerous.

Missed it by that much.

Another political earthquake in Washington as Kevin McCarthy drops out of the race for Speaker, and the House GOP doesn’t seem to know which way to go.

Hillary Clinton has started to distance herself from President Obama on some issues. It’s an understandable strategy, but it carries many risks.

Obama’s first Secretary of State has come out against Obama’s Trans Pacific Partnership.

An FCC rule from a bygone era may get Bernie Sanders and company some time on NBC.

One of the nation’s preeminent polling firms is sitting out the 2016 primaries.

With just a day to go before House Republicans pick their candidate for Speaker, conservatives don’t seem to be able to unify behind a candidate.

In which I change my mind on an important topic.

Quietly, Florida Senator Marco Rubio has been moving close to the front f the race for the Republican Presidential nomination.

With time running out for him to make a decision, a new report shows how deeply Vice President Biden has been in stirring up the speculation that is now surrounding him.

A woman who has been running for President for at least eight years is apparently having trouble explaining why she wants to be President.

Linking view on guns to political self-identity.

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill legalizing physician-assisted suicide, making California the fifth state to legalize the practice and possibly giving real political momentum to the Right To Die movement.

President Obama is reportedly considering a plan that would keep up to 5,000 American troops in Afghanistan past the withdrawal date he had already set.