Outside the Beltway

An argument against “bothersiderism” in this case and, yet again, noting the problem with single seat districts.

On the way out the door, Scott Walker signed a bill to take powers away from his successor (and demonstrated a lack of understanding of Venn diagrams).

Eight years after it was signed into law, a Federal Judge has ruled the Affordable Care Act to be unconstitutional.

In a small, but meaningful, step, the Senate has rebuked the Administration’s policies toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Jon Kyl was named to replace John McCain back in September, but as expected he’s already announcing that he’ll be leaving at the end of the year.

More evidence that President Trump was an active participant in the scheme to silence Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels in advance of the 2016 election.

House Republicans reportedly don’t have the votes to fund the President’s border wall.

Federal prosecutors are investigating the Trump Inaugural Committee, adding to the long list of the President’s legal troubles.

The Trump Administration appears to think that the Budget Deficit and National Debt aren’t a big deal because we can just grow our way out of the problem. This is highly unlikely to happen.

Gerrymandering. It’s not just for Republicans.

The publisher of the National Enquirer admits that it made payments to a Playboy model for the purpose of protecting Donald Trump’s campaign for President.

Jacob T. Levy has a column worth a read.

The President’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen has been sentenced to three years in prison for his role in assisting the President in various scandals and cover-ups.

Nancy Pelosi is apparently close to a deal with dissident Democrats that will keep her in power until at least 2022.

While most Hollywood blockbusters have male leads, films starring women actually do better on the aggregate.

Once again, President Trump is threatening a shutdown over the border wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for.

The Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving state laws banning Medicaid reimbursement for non-abortion services provided by Planned Parenthood.

Senator Mitch McConnell and others are blocking a criminal justice reform bill currently pending in the Senate.

The verdict of last month’s elections was clear, but Republicans still don’t seem to get it.

This month’s budget fight is likely the last chance the President will have to get any funding for his border wall.

President Trump’s first choice to replace John Kelly as Chief of Staff turned the job down, leading one to wonder why anyone would want the job.

A fifty-year-old song is getting new scrutiny in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

The white supremacist charged with killing a counter-protester during last year’s events in Charlottesville has been convicted of first-degree murder.

Cory Booker’s interest in running for President has been an open secret for some time, now he’s being far less coy about it.

The Supreme Court appears reluctant to overturn a century of case law that established a significant exception to the Double Jeopardy Clause.

Lies and possible evidence of obstruction of justice make up the bulk of Robert Mueller’s new case against former Trump campaign director Paul Manafort.

Current attempts to take power away from the state executive branch illustrates a lot of what I have been writing about for years.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the U.S, Attorney for the Southern District of New York have filed sentencing memos that directly implicate the President in a series of felonies.

William Barr, who served as Attorney General under President George H.W. Bush, has been selected to replace Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.

President Trump is expected to name a former Fox News host as Ambassador to the United Nations.

The economy is in good shape for the moment but there are storm clouds on the horizon.

Trump has reportedly told aides that he doesn’t really care about reports of an approaching crisis of the budget deficit and national debt because he’ll be out of office before it becomes a problem.

Honoring the 41st President cast a poor light on the 45th.

Washington said farewell to George H.W. Bush today in a service that both remembered his spirit and his heroism, and stands as a sharp rebuke to what politics has been reduced to in America today.

The Trump Administration is preparing to ban bump stocks in the coming weeks.

A nation says farewell to a war hero, public servant, former President, and great American.

Though in poor health himself, Bob Dole made his way to the Capitol to pay his respects to his old friend and political rival.

Defense Secretary James Mattis has announced that the deployment of U.S. troops to the Mexican border will be extended through the end of this year.

Citing substantial cooperation, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is recommending no jail time for former Trump associate Michael Flynn.

American troops have been in Afghanistan for seventeen years now, it’s time to bring them all home.

Michael Avenatti, the California lawyer best known for representing Stormy Daniels in her claims against the President, is dropping a bid for the Democratic nomination that never seemed like a serious effort.

Bernie Sanders has not officially said that he’s running for President, but he’s reportedly planning a much more aggressive campaign than what we saw in 2016 if he does.

Republican lawmakers in Michigan and Wisconsin are responding to their party’s losses at the Gubernatorial level by attempting to restrict the powers of the incoming Democratic Governor.

Later this week, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could rewrite decades of law interpreting the Fifth Amendment’s Double Jeopardy rule.

He says he won’t announce anything until after the start of 2019, but Joe Biden is sure sounding like a guy who’s running for President.

The evidence against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi continues to mount. Will the Trump Administration care?

The 2020 campaign is already heating up, and California Senator Kamala Harris could be one of the first serious candidates for President to throw her hat in the ring.

The continued problem cause by a lack of shared reality.

Worth a quick watch.

Presidents Trump and Xi have agree to a “90 day cease fire” on new tariffs. This means that Trump will not raise tariffs on Chinese imports that were scheduled to take effect on January 1st of next year. The tariffs will go into effect if the two countries cannot reach an agreement within that 90 day time frame.