Outside the Beltway

A good first step, but there’s a lot more than needs to be done to reform the criminal justice system.

A new polls seems to show that Republicans are still clinging to their opposition to marriage equality in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell.

It’s all about the Benjamins.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has formally entered the race for President, but can he overcome his flip-flops and a turn to the hard right?

While “fundamentals” will have more impact on choosing our next president than what happens on the campaign trail, the race itself is important.

New information in the Dylann Roof case shows that the background check system used for gun purchases is still prone to human error.

Former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is likely going to Federal Prison very soon.

A 1980 debate between Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush shows a different GOP.

Finally.

The unqualified hack who led OPM while China stole 21 million sensitive personnel files has finally resigned.

Donald Trump says he still doesn’t know where the President was born, but he’d rather not talk about that anymore.

A Republican political consultant says Hillary Clinton is in danger of losing the nomination.

The NYT has left Ted Cruz’ new book off its bestseller list, despite it selling more copies than 18 of 20 titles on said list.

The GOP’s Trump-induced headache isn’t going away any time soon.

A Federal Judge has uphold a Patent Office ruling revoking the Redskins Trademarks on the ground that they are “disparaging” toward Native Americans.

The NYT paints the longshot senator as a happy warrior trying to win the White House by doing it his way.

With the last legal hurdle to Obamacare cleared, “death panels” have made a quiet comeback.

The winners of the Women’s World Cup will get paid far less than the men that played last year, but that’s not because of sexism.

A County Clerk in Kentucky is being sued because she thinks she can refuse to do her job and still keep that job.

As much as I wish it were otherwise, Iowa and New Hampshire are not losing their influence over the Presidential primary process.

Republicans are finally starting to react to what Donald Trump has been saying.

He’s second in national polls!

The Federal Government is threatening to hold up plans for a new Redskins stadium unless the team changes its name.

Taxes on wine, beer, and spirits vary wildly from state-to-state and even within each state.

In an era of incredibly polarized politics and 24/7/365 campaign mode, it’s refreshing to see politicians treat each other as human beings now and again.

He definitely wouldn’t appreciate it, but in some sense you can thank Robert Bork for the Supreme Court’s opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb is running for President for reasons I would assume make sense to him.

A long history of opposing marriage equality could end up hurting Republicans even though that battle is over in this country.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker will be entering the race for President later this month, but it’s unclear if his recent turn to the hard right will help him or hurt him.

The June Jobs Report was okay, but it certainly doesn’t inspire much confidence.

The Confederate Flag needs to be removed from official places of honor, but do we really need to worry about reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard?

Donald Trump has gotten almost nothing but negative press since entering the race for President, but it doesn’t seem to be hurting him very much just yet.

For the first time since 1961, there will soon be an American Embassy in Havana, and a Cuban Embassy in Washington. It’s well past time that this happened.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a major case about public employee unions that could go a long way toward restraining their power.

A new poll shows that solid majorities of Americans support the Supreme Court’s decisions on Obamacare subsidies and marriage. It’s a different story for Republicans.

The Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality seems to have revived an idea that has been mentioned before, but as it has always been, the idea of “getting government out of marriage” is little more than a simplistic slogan.

Chris Christie is in the race for the Republican nomination, but it’s tough to see how he has a plausible path to relevance.

When you’re being paid $65,000 to speak for less than an hour, you’re pretty much the poster child for privilege.

In the wake of the latest Supreme Court decision, the Affordable Care Act seems to have become even more firmly established than it was before last week, and the prospect of repeal has become even less likely.

The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to wade back into the thorny issue of race and higher education.

The Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the way the death penalty is administered, dealing a serious blow to opponents of the death penalty.

SCOTUS has upheld the use of election commissions to draw Congressional district lines.

There are still legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act pending after King v. Burwell, but they aren’t quite as substantial as what we’ve seen over the last five years.

The Attorney General of Texas is responding to the Supreme Court’s marriage ruling by telling Clerk’s who issue marriage license that they are free to ignore the law.

In an ordinary year, Ohio Governor John Kasich seems like he’d be a perfect candidate for Republicans in an era when winning the Buckeye State is essential to winning the White House. But things are far from ordinary in the GOP.