Outside the Beltway

Progressive enthusiasm for the notion that our governing framework is dynamic and ought be constantly updated by the judiciary is waning.

The unconscionable violation of norms in 2016 won’t apply in 2018; it’s a matter of power, not principle.

After thirty years on the bench, during which he played a central role in some of the Supreme Court’s most significant rulings, Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring.

Virginia Republicans nominated arch-Trumpist Corey Stewart for the Senate three weeks ago. His campaign appears to be going about as well as expected.

Convicted leaker Chelsea Manning lost a bid for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Maryland, to the surprise of nobody.

It’s been eight years since we’ve seen a Supreme Court retirement, and despite speculation there were none announced today.

The Supreme Court term began with hopes that the Justices would shake up the redistricting process with rulings against partisan gerrymandering. It has ended with three whimpers.

After hitting a stumbling bloc in April, Mitt Romney coasted to a win last night, and has a clear path to Washington and the U.S. Senate.

Joe Crowley, widely considered in line to replace Nancy Pelosi as party leader in the House, has been defeated.

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a California law requiring Crisis Pregnancy Centers to provide information about abortion.

In a ruling that largely relies on the authority granted by Congress to the President to regulate immigration on national security grounds, the Supreme Court has upheld the final version of the Administration’s travel ban.

Once touted as an example of his deal-making prowess, Harley-Davidson sent a rebuke to President Trump by announcing it was moving some manufacturing to Europe to counteract the impact of his ongoing trade war.

Donald Trump continues to demonstrate that he has nothing but utter contempt for the Rule of Law. At some point, he will either be called to account for this or our nation’s institutions will suffer as a result.

The Supreme Court has largely rejected a challenge to state and Federal redistricting maps in the State of Texas.

A Republican organization dedicated to abortion rights is shutting down after 30 years, eight fewer than the Party has opposed them.

Was one of the pioneering African-American entertainers a “house Negro”?

The Supreme Court declined, for now, to hear the appeal of a Washington state florist who declined to provide services for a same-sex wedding. The issues it raises, though, are likely to return to the Court in the future.

A pioneer woman born in 1867 depicted American Indians and African-Americans in ways that are cringe-worthy today.

Some activists on the left are calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to be abolished. While that may be a great sound bite, it doesn’t really accomplish anything.

Not surprisingly, Canadians aren’t too thrilled with Donald Trump these days.

Turkey’s authoritarian leader is going to be around for a long time.

A thinly-sourced report says Yes.

The president has a skewed view of who is trying to enter the US.

A controversial name is disappearing from one small stretch of road.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a restaurant in Virginia last night, and the incident raises questions of how far we should let politics infiltrate everyday life.

A new survey shows that Americans are increasingly unable to tell the difference between fact and opinion. That’s a problem.

Madison was right about politicians and ambition. He just didn’t see the how it would all play out.

Three months after it started, the Trump Trade War is already starting to have a negative impact on American businesses and American consumers.

The dean of conservative columnists argues that the Republican Congress must be taught a lesson.

The 100-mile Constitution-free zone strikes again.

The crying Honduran girl who has become a symbol of a brutal policy actually is not one of its victims.

Either the President of the United States is a knowing liar or he is very easily duped. Neither is a comforting thought.

The odds of an immigration bill passing the House were already low. This morning, President Trump pretty much guaranteed failure.

In a case that pit the new rules of cyberspace against the old rules about when the Fourth Amendment protects privacy, the Supreme Court ruled today in a way that breathes new life into both privacy and the Fourth Amendment.

Notwithstanding the rhetoric of the President and his supporters, most Americans believe that immigration is a good thing for the United States.

ABC is bringing back Roseanne without Roseanne Barr. Whether that will prove to be a success or not remains to be seen.

Melania Trump visited a detention center in Texas where children are being held by the Federal Government, but it was her choice of apparel that seemed to garner the most attention.

The former New York City Mayor is prepared to spend $80 million to help Democrats take back Congress this year.

President Trump once said that “trade wars are good and easy to win.” It’s only been three months since he started this war and we’re already finding out just how wrong he is about that.

We may finally get a ruling applying the Excessive Fine Clause to the states and limiting the ability of police to confiscate property.

President Trump has reversed the family separation policy and replaced it with a family detention policy. This is likely to lead to Court challenges.

House Republicans are supposed to vote on one or more immigration bills this week, but can’t even agree what their policy should be.

Trump’s former Campaign Manager mocked a ten-year-old girl with Down’s Syndrome who was taken away from her parents.

A new poll out of Arizona gives Republicans some hope that they’ll be able to dodge the possibility of Joe Arpaio or Kelli Ward winning a primary to fill an already vulnerable seat.

Another unilateral withdrawal from an international institution.

Donald Trump wants Republicans to make his immigration policies the centerpiece of the midterm campaign. What could possibly go wrong?

The Supreme Court avoided ruling on the merits of two partisan gerrymandering cases, but the issue will be back before them sooner rather than later.

New polling shows that the Trump Administration’s family separation policy is widely unpopular, with only Republicans supporting it. That last fact, though, is why Trump is unlikely to change the policy.

A federal trial court has ruled the practice an unconstitutional infringement on suffrage.

Trump supporters seeking to justify the Trump Administration’s family separation policy are drawing a false, and baseless, equivalence between immigrant families and people who have been convicted of crimes.