Outside the Beltway

While he campaigned on a message of restraint, Donald Trump has largely adopted the interventionist foreign policies of his predecessors.

In a first of its kind move, voters in Denver have voted to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared “case closed” on the Mueller Report and the Russia investigation. This is far from the truth.

If the economy remains strong, then Democrats could find it harder to beat the President than they thought.

A seemingly out-of-the-blue political movement is arguing in favor of independent election of Vice-Presidents.

A new poll finds that a small majority of Americans support abolishing the Electoral College, but that’s not nearly enough to make any change in how we elect Presidents possible.

More Madisonian musing on the current state of our constitutional order.

Back to Fed 51 and this moment in oversight: we have to remember what ambitions drive politicians.

The move creates a rare Senate opening in the Equality State, and an opportunity for the daughter of a certain former Vice-President.

There’s a lot of talk right now about “electability.” but what the heck does it mean?

A panel of three Federal Judges has found Ohio’s Congressional District map to be unconstitutional, but a case currently pending before the Supreme Court could mute the impact of this decision.

President Trump’s obsequious effort to please Russian President Vladimir Putin continues.

The ongoing apparent attempted coup in Venezuela is already leading to talk of American intervention in the event of a crackdown. That would be unwise and unjustified.

President Trump and the top Democrats in Congress announced a purported $2 trillion infrastructure deal but there’s no reason to believe it will ever become law.

A cautious analyst makes a strong claim.

Despite seemingly ideal conditions, Green Mountain Care was an absolute debacle.

A new poll shows that a majority of the British public believes that the Brexit referendum was a bad idea. What that means for the future of Brexit is not at all clear.

A new poll shows President Trump struggling against four of his potential 2020 challengers. Should Republicans be worried and Democrats elated? It’s too early to tell.

The President has hit a dubious milestone barely two years into his administration.

Ballot measures across the country would deny access to those who refuse to release tax returns.

A Federal Court in Michigan has found several of that state’s Congressional and state legislative districts to have been subject to extreme partisan gerrymandering.

Counter-Intelligence officials are warning that Russia is preparing another election interference campaign for the 2020 election.

A law professor asks some interesting questions, but ultimately not the right ones.

The Deputy Attorney General has some things to say about Congress, the press, and others.

Before he started his campaign for President, former Vice-President Biden reached out to Anita Hill to apologize for his conduct during the confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas in 1991.

The United States agreed to pay North Korea $2 million for “medical treatment” for Otto Warmbier. Did the Trump Administration actually pay the bill? They aren’t saying.

Having lost to him, she’s an ineffective voice on the matter of Donald Trump.

Trump campaign officials are worried about the President’s chances of holding onto a state that was crucial to his win in 2020. They should be.

Larry Sabato lays out a quite plausible path.

The President has tied his all-time low in one prominent poll.

Some say yes, others no.

Thus far, the full(ish) release provides plenty of juicy details but no real revelations.

Donald Trump speaks largely just to his base, ignoring the nation as a whole. Whether this will be enough to win re-election in 2020 is an open question.

Virginia Democrats had a good fundraising quarter despite the scandals enveloping their top three officeholders.

It’s still early in the 2020 cycle, but Democratic candidate are finding rally attendees focused on one thing. Beating Donald Trump.

Can the ICC get him into the dock?

The other shoe has dropped.

Both major parties have claimed victory but it certainly looks like Likud will hang on.

Sanders’ suggestion is not as outside democratic norms as one might think.

The Israeli prime minister is engaging in a familiar but dangerous gambit to retain power.

As many states contemplate restoring voting rights to felons who have completed their sentence, a leading Democrat wants to go further.

The law is not on the President’s side.

Theresa May and the UK are quickly running out of options.

Senate Republicans are pushing for the end of minority obstruction—and the Democrats can’t wait.

The early frontrunner for the Democratic nomination is drawing fire from multiple fronts. It may destroy his candidacy before it begins.

Oral argument hints that we may have a 5-4 ruling allowing state legislatures to continue stacking the deck.

Many are calling for the UK Prime Minister’s ouster. But the problem is Brexit itself, not any one leader.

It’s the battleground states that are the issue, not small states v. large states.

Ultimately, it isn’t a very good one.

Some context for ongoing discussions.