Outside the Beltway

Ben Carson is not a serious candidate for President, but he’s likely to get a lot of support from the GOP’s Tea Party wing.

A New York City Grand Jury refuses to indict a cop who appears from all available evidence to choked a guy to death for no good reason.

Michael Brown’s stepfather made incendiary comments in the wake of the Grand Jury announcement, but they do not amount to a crime.

The Obama Administration took some fire yesterday for recent Ambassadorial Appointments, but the President’s record has been consistent with those of his recent predecessors.

It’s an old story. Republican leadership wants to avoid a government shutdown, but the hard core conservatives want a fight, this time over the President’s immigration action. We have a week to see how it unfolds.

The next President will have a profound ability to shape the future of the Supreme Court, but that is unlikely to be the most important issue on voters minds in 2016.

Some on the right are suggesting that Congress retaliate against the President’s executive action on immigration by refusing to invite him to give the State Of The Union Address.

The Food & Drug Administration’s new regulations requiring calorie and other information on menus in restaurants and elsewhere won’t work, could limit consumer choice, and may not be Constitutional.

Public Relations 101: When you have a job in public relations, don’t say stupid things.

After a disastrous campaign in 2012, Texas Governor Rick Perry appears to be gearing up for a new run for the White House in 2016, but questions remain.

The man who shot and killed Michael Brown has resigned, but that’s unlikely to satisfy protesters who still seem to be demanding criminal charges that are never going to come.

The abrupt departure of Chuck Hagel says much more about Administration policy than it does about Chuck Hagel.

A new poll shows that a majority of Americans support the President’s changes to deportation policy, but don’t like that he acted unilaterally.

The numbers don’t lie, Mitt Romney remains popular among Republican voters.

Columbus, Philadelphia, or New York City (well, Brooklyn really)?

Sen. Charles Schumer says Democrats made a mistake by concentrating on getting health care reform passed instead of on fixing the economy.

Regardless of the outcome of the Michael Brown investigation, there are legitimate problems that need to be addressed.

Some points on the immigration debate that need constant (it seems) reinforcement.

The House of Representatives has filed its lawsuit against the President. As expected, it doesn’t amount to much.

Not surprisingly, last night’s announcement that there would be no state court indictment in the Michael Brown shooting led to violence and confrontations with police. That’s not going to solve any of the real problems that face Ferguson, or any other community in the United States.

A not unexpected decision from the Grand Jury that investigated the Michael Brown shooting.

The fact that Republicans lack anything approaching a coherent immigration plan makes it hard to take their criticism of the President seriously.

When push comes to shove, top Republicans may still try to make Mitt Romney happen.

A surprising change at the top of the military’s civilian chain of command.

Top Republicans worry that their party’s response to the President’s executive action will alienate Latinos. However, there’s little they can do about that.

A critic of the imperial presidency becomes an imperial president.

The SNL cold open updates a Schoolhouse Rock classic

The House Intelligence Committee has concluded that the conspiracy theories regarding the 9/11/2012 attack in Benghazi are not supported by the evidence. That’s unlikely to change anyone’s mind, though.

You thought the American combat role in Afghanistan would end on December 31st? Think again.

On a preliminary examination, the President’s executive action on immigration appears to be within the boundaries of applicable law. However, as with other exercises of Executive Branch authority, it raises some important concerns about the precedent that it sets.

Fresh off his third statewide win in four years, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker appears to be getting ready to run for President.

The Office of Legal Counsel told the president Wednesday he couldn’t do what he did on Thursday.

On substance, the President’s immigration actions aren’t very objectionable. How he is implementing them, though, is problematic and seems needlessly confrontational.

In the end, there appears to be very little, if anything, the GOP can do to stop or roll back the executive actions the President will announce Thursday evening.

Based on the available evidence, there’s very little evidence that Voter ID laws had a significant impact on the midterm elections.

The idea that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists is simply not historically accurate, so should we be reconsidering the policy of not negotiating with ISIS for the release of Western hostages?

Former Senator Jim Webb is the first Democrat to kinda, sorta, throw his hat into the ring for 2016.

A new poll provides some interesting context to the political context to the President’s expected executive action on immigration.