Outside the Beltway

POLITICO buries the lede in making the case for “Donald Trump’s bubble presidency.”

The circumstantial case for corruption by Kushner is growing.

Shots fired: European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker threatens to fight back if President Trump imposes tariffs on steel and aluminum.

The February 2 episode of This American Life gets at some of my frustrations over our inability to have a meaningful discussion about pretty much anything.

New polls show increased support for various gun control measures, including limitations on so-called “assault weapons,” but that doesn’t mean we’re likely to see Congressional action on the subject.

Jonathan Bernstein thinks so and Chuck Todd and company outline a pretty strong case.

What is CPAC telling us about the contemporary conservative movement?

Salary-based definitions distort the conversation. And lifestyle-based definitions are a moving target.

Dave Schuler argues the US would have a much better healthcare system if we had modeled it on VA clinics rather than private insurance.

An emerging technology will take “fake news” to a whole new level.

Since the Supreme Court handed down its decision in District of Columbia v. Heller four separate Federal appellate courts have ruled that state and local laws banning “assault weapons” do not violate the Second Amendment.

President Trump is pressing the idea of arming teachers to stop shootings in schools.

The students who survived last week’s mass shooting in Parkland, Florida are speaking out, and some on the right are responding by engaging in personal attacks and spreading conspiracy theories.

Blake Hounshell has doubts about whether Trump colluded with Moscow.

The tragedy in Florida last week revealed once again how hyperpartisanship is destroying our politics and harming the country.

There are no adequate words.

The new Black Panther movie raises a variant of the central question of the superhero genre. [No significant spoilers]

Phil Carter makes an interesting argument but he’s ultimately mistaken.

The long-overdue redesign of OTB is now live.

A significant and important development in the Russia investigation that shows that President Trump’s claim that the stories of Russian interference in the 2016 election were “Fake News” is completely untrue.

Another school shooting, this time in Florida.

Donald Trump’s lawyer admits to making a six-figure payment on the eve of the 2016 election to a porn star that Trump was alleged to have had an affair with. That just raises a host of other questions.

Donald Trump spent much of the past year touting the rising stock market, now he’s getting a lesson in reality.

President Trump has harsh words for Democrats who didn’t applaud his SOTU.

Dodge is facing controversy this morning for using the words of Martin Luther King Jr. in a Super Bowl commercial, but they’re not the only party who may have some questions to answer.

Two Amtrak crashes in less than a week is newsworthy. It is not, however, a trend.

A newly released poll has encouraging signs for Democrats in 2018, but there are several caveats.

Have we reached the point where the processing speed, connectivity, and cameras on our smart phones are simply good enough?

Imagine a world where Hillary Clinton was President and stood accused of the same things Donald Trump and his campaign are currently under investigation for.

Yesterday marked fifteen years since I launched Outside the Beltway on the old Blogspot service. 

John Kelly continues to throw away the good name he earned in decades of service as a Marine to serve the agenda of President Trump.

The President talked about national unity last night, but given his own rhetoric as a candidate and as a President, it’s a call that seems to be hypocritical.

Do yourself a favor and skip the State Of The Union Address tonight. You won’t be missing anything important.

Democratic norms are eroding.

And a little Electoral College for good measure.

Donald Trump is wildly unpopular in the United Kingdom, and that’s apparently causing him to eschew visiting the United States’s most important ally.

And the evidence for obstruction of justice continues to mount.

With the Administration set to commit the United States to a forever war in Syria, it’s time for Congress to act.

Former White House and Trump campaign adviser Steve Bannon has been subpoenaed in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

Some thoughts about why the president’s remarks on immigration are so problematic.

Support for Trump’s comments are very telling.

Once again, President Trump opens his mouth and proceeds to insult a good part of the world while embarrassing the country.

Let’s not forget how unique the Moore-Jones contest was.

We’re looking for reader input on site functionality and features.

As he nears the one-year anniversary of his Inauguration, President Trump is getting increasingly bad reviews from the public.

The difference is, dare I say, huge.

There are no good outcomes for the GOP in Alabama.

Donald Trump spends an inordinate amount of time watching television and regurgitating what he sees on Twitter. That’s not healthy.

No, the deal this week is not Trump becoming an independent.

The pardoning of Joe Arpaio was distasteful and an affront to the Rule of Law, but it was completely within the powers of the President and should not be a ground for impeachment.