Outside the Beltway

The former Florida Governor announced that he’s taking the first step towards running for president in 2016.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is not running for President, and she is unlikely to change her mind on that. Nonetheless, the speculation that she is will continue for some time to come because it suits her interests and the interests of others.

The “ticking time bomb scenario” is a TV trope and, therefore, is a terrible guide for making policy.

Vice-President Cheney’s amoral defense of torture has come to define how most conservatives view the issue, and that’s a problem.

The U.S. Government continues to lose money on production of two coins that people barely use anymore.

As expected, the Senate passed the so-called “Cromnibus,” but not before a self-aggrandizing maneuver by Ted Cruz ended up being exploited by Democrats to pass outstanding nominations.

The Justice Department won’t force James Risen to testify in a legal investigation, but faces a new choice in a different case.

Rick Santorum looks to be getting ready to hit the campaign trail again, but it’s doubtful he can find appeal beyond the religious conservatives who supported him in 2012.

As the second anniversary of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School approaches, a new poll finds that more Americans support gun rights than gun control.

Despite opposition from both Republicans and Democrats, the compromise budget resolution passed narrowly last night, but not without some last minute drama

Rick Perry is sounding for all the world like a candidate for President, and says he’s a different candidate this time, but initial perceptions are hard to overcome.

The budget bill Congress set to pass Congress would effectively reverse the will of the voters of Washington, D.C., who just voted to legalize marijuana.

Some on the left are suggesting Democrats should write off the South for the foreseeable future, but that would be as foolish as Republicans assuming that their dominance in the region will last as long as Democratic dominance did in the century after the Civil War.

What now?

Chris Rock wants us to remember that Bill Cosby isn’t the only celebrity accused of rape.

Judging by recent polling, the President’s executive action has hardened GOP opposition to immigration reform, making progress on the issue going forward much less likely.

Even leaving aside the fact that it is far too early to be making such assessments, the idea that Rand Paul is the front runner for the Republican nomination in 2016 fails the logic test.

It looks like Congress has averted a budget fight for the second straight year.

A dark and regrettable time in American history is finally seeing the light of day.

The GOP donor class would like the 2016 race to be short and sweet, but that’s unlikely to happen.

Many have suggested that prosecution of cases involving police misconduct should be handled by prosecutors who don’t work with local police departments on a regular basis. They’re right.

The GOP Senate Caucus seems to be split on whether or not to reinstate the filibuster for Presidential and Judicial appointments.

For the fourth time in three years, a Federal Court has ruled that Florida’s law requiring drug tests for welfare recipients is unconstitutional.

How will Republicans react if, as many expect, the Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage across the nation?

Michele Bachmann leaves office at the end of the current Congress, but we may not have heard the last from her.

Thinking about that the state, law, violence, and the Garner incident (and contributing to the tl;dr phenomenon).

Yet another example of the need for context when discussing stats.

Not surprisingly a new poll finds that African-Americans perceive the American justice system far differently than whites.

A crushing but expected defeat for a veteran Democrat.

But, hey, don’t worry, there’s nothing racial going on here. Nothing at all.

Clearly, the Romney campaign didn’t get the point of social media.

The House approved a bill to protest the President’s executive action on immigration that will go nowhere. The question is whether it will placate the right.

While conservatives have been generally as appalled as others with the news out of Staten Island, some of them are looking in the wrong place for blame.

Texas has joined with 16 other states in a lawsuit against the Obama Administration over the President’s executive action on immigration. At first glance, it doesn’t appear to have much legal merit.