Outside the Beltway

The longest-serving member of Congress in American history has passed away at the age of 92.

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld has rejoined the Republican Party, leading many to wonder if he’s considering a challenge to President Trump in 2020.

Virgnia’s governor has to resign. But not because of some 35-year-old photos.

Bret Stephens on Howard Schultz

There’s not really a good explanation for this, Governor Northam.

While much of the attention in the race for the Democratic nomination to date has been on the left, there is a path forward for a more centrist candidate.

Wearing Donald Trump’s famous campaign symbol creates a presumption of ill intent. Is that fair?

The longer video and deeper investigation of the incident reveals a very different story.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery to remove cancerous nodes from a lung, but reports seem to point to a quick recovery.

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

In the end, the race between Cindy Hyde-Smith and Mike Espy was not even close.

Once again, people on the left are complaining that Ruth Bader Ginsburg didn’t retire when they wanted her to.

A Mississippi law that seeks to ban most abortions after 15 weeks was struck down by a Federal District Court Judge.

The Party of Donald Trump has left no sane choice but to vote straight Democrat.

Bret Stephens’ piece this week adds up to not much.

Congressman Steve King’s anti-immigrant, xenophobic rhetoric hasn’t bothered his constituents for twenty years, but he suddenly finds himself the focus of controversy and possibly vulnerable. It couldn’t happen to a more well-deserving guy.

In another sign of the rapid secularization taking place in that country, Irish voters last weekend voted to rescind the nation’s centuries-old, albeit not recently enforced, law against blasphemy.

Trump’s words matter.

America’s tradition of unlimited free expression increases the danger of violence.

Sad news from the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

Marijuana is now legal in Canada, and many people are watching the country to see how it adjusts to this change.

The Kavanaugh fight is just another indicator of our national divide.

With the support of two holdout Senators, the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh now appears to be all but official.

The Senate voted to proceed to an expected floor vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court tomorrow, but the final outcome is still uncertain.

While I was originally content to let Brett Kavanaugh sail through to confirmation, I now feel compelled to oppose his nomination to be a Supreme Court Justice.

For the second time in two years, the Supreme Court starts a new term down one Justice. That isn’t as big a problem as it might seem.

Republicans intend to “plow through” on the Kavanaugh nomination even after yesterday’s hearing, but it’s not clear that they have the votes to confirm him.

Trumpism is a direct by-product of the poisonous populism of the Tea Party movement, and they’ve both taken over the Republican Party.

The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh is, effectively, assured. Democrats should be careful about how much further they push their opposition.

After four days of hearings, the fate of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court seems assured.

The second day of questioning for Judge Brett Kavanaugh was a bit rockier than the first, but nothing happened that seriously threatens his eventual confirmation.

Day One of questions for Judge Brett Kavanaugh went about as you’d expect.

The first day of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings was much ado about pretty much nothing, but then that can be used to describe a process whose outcome is pretty much foreordained.

The confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh begin today, but the outcome seems foreordained.

The West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that a candidate who lost the GOP primary for Senate cannot run as the nominee of another party due to the state’s “sore loser” law.

A top Vatican official is alleging that Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI were both aware of previously unknown allegations of sexual abuse and chose to allow them to be covered up rather than bringing them to light.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez continues to lead in the polls, but his lead is far from secure.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh reportedly told Senator Susan Collins that he considers Roe v. Wade
“settled law.” This will likely be enough to get her support and that of another holdout Republican Senator.

A Pennsylvania Grand Jury report reveals decades of abuse by some 300 Catholic Priests impacting more than 1,000 children and 26 of the state’s Roman Catholic Diocese.

Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination appears to be on track for confirmation before the new Supreme Court term begins in October.

Tuesday’s election results were a defeat for the progressive effort to remake the Democratic Party in their image.

In a rare red-state victory for labor unions, Missouri voters rejected a right to work initiative by an overwhelming margin.

In what amounts to a significant, albeit not surprising, change in Catholic doctrine, Pope Francis has declared that the death penalty is unacceptable in all circumstances.

A fourth poll in less than a month shows that most Americans support keeping the rights protected in Roe v. Wade alive.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is running for a third term under a dark ethical cloud. That probably won’t matter.

California’s Democratic Party endorsed “progressive” upstart Kevin de León over Senator Dianne Feinstein, but this is unlikely to stop Feinstein from winning election to a sixth term in office.

Another poll shows that the vast majority of Americans do not want to see the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade overturned.

At least in these early days, Democrats appear to lack a coherent message, or a coherent strategy, to propel any effort to block Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

There are good arguments as to why progressive Senators should vote against his confirmation. Let’s stick to those.

A selection that is likely to keep the Senate GOP united and red-state Democrats up for re-election under pressure to vote to confirm.