Outside the Beltway

It was a largely fruitless weekend in the debt negotiations.

It’s still politics as usual in Washington.

While unemployment remains stubbornly high, Washington is spending its time fighting over the budget deficit

Tim Pawlenty took aim at Michele Bachmann yesterday but will he keep up the attack?

British professor Julian Lindley-French offers a tongue-in-cheek essay for the 4th of July: “American Independence: Time to End the Experiment.”

The Ronald Reagan that Republicans lionize is very different from the one who actually served as 40th President of the United States.

The Senate Republican leader is running a shrewd political game. But what’s good for the GOP is bad for America.

Talks about a deal to raise the debt ceiling seem pretty close to collapse now that there are no Republicans involved.

For the first time since the end of World War II, the GOP is wrestling with two diametrically opposed visions of foreign affairs.

Grover Norquist believes ending government handouts must be offset by tax cuts.

The debate format was the biggest loser last night, but there were a few memorable moments in New Hampshire.

We might be looking at a potential fiscal crisis.

Is it possible to address the U.S. fiscal situation?

President Obama comfortably leads all Republicans but one.

As Congress left town for the long weekend, the Senate Minority Leader threw a grenade into the budget negotiations.

Should we worry about the deficit when funding “disaster relief”? Should we be funding “disaster relief” at all?

With the customary hand-wringing over the low quality of the presidential field well underway, the corollary pining for other candidates to join the race is starting.

What are the options regarding the debt ceiling?

As of today, the United States is legally barred from borrowing money to finance its operations. Thanks for nothing, Congress.

Republicans are playing politics with the National Debt. Please don’t tell me you’re shocked.

A lot of people appear confused at to what the debt ceiling is and why it has to be raised.

Republicans seem to have realized that the Ryan Plan’s Medicare reforms aren’t going anywhere.

There’s not much movement in the President’s job approval numbers.

The GOP seems to be losing the public relations battle over deficit reduction.

A comedian-turned-Senator makes some strong points about how America goes to war.

Obama’s main politics are hardly as leftist as many make them out to be. Indeed, much of them could have fit well in the the GOP of 1990s and early 2000s.

President Obama chided the media for paying too much attention to the birther issue, but his criticism was unwarranted.

Contempt for Congress is an old American tradition. Unfortunately.

If you look at the Tea Party’s impact on state politics, you see it really isn’t much different from the Religious Right.