Outside the Beltway

Are these four men our last, best hope for a deal that will end the shutdown and avoid breaching the debt ceiling?

Divided government is the worst political system ever, except for all the others.

Two states are creating a voting system that will make some people ineligible to vote in state and local elections.

The GOP’s approval numbers have fallen like a stone, but it’s unclear whether this will matter in 2014.

Being Speaker of the House has become much more of a difficult job than it used to be.

There’s no denying it now. The GOP is being harmed by the events in Washington far more than the President and Democrats in general.

The Supreme Court heard argument in a major campaign finance case yesterday.

If one considers oneself to be conservative, ask if the the actions of the GOP at the moment conform to that term..

Recent anti-corruption measures have contributed to making American government worse.

They’re back…….

63% are angry at Republicans, 57% are angry at Democrats, and 53% are angry at President Obama.

There’s a way for President Obama and Speaker Boehner to talk out a deal to resolve the current crisis, but they have to want to do it.

To borrow a phrase from Stephen Colbert, if you want to understand how Congress works, you better know a District.

The “Hastert Rule” isn’t the reason Speaker Boehner isn’t bringing a “clean” CR up for a vote, political survival is.

The situation we currently find oursevles in is very much driven by structural issues.

It’s now clear that, absent an unlikely miracle, there will be a government shutdown.

With key conservatives pushing for sanity, the grown-ups have a chance to take back the GOP.

If nothing else, Ted Cruz’s quixotic mission has succeeded in cementing him in the minds of Republican voters.

Ted Cruz is holding the Senate floor “until I can no longer speak,” but he still won’t be able to stop the Senate from going forward.

Ted Cruz becomes a little more honest about his plan to “defund” Obamacare.

The GOP’s plan to defund reality becomes even more disconnected from reality.

A gun rights victory at the ballot box in Colorado.

President Obama is trying to launch a war but there’s a lot of competition for attention.

Once, against Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg makes it clear she isn’t going anywhere.

In both Egypt and Syria, it’s damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

Reports of the death of the Voting Rights Act have been greatly exaggerated.

Cory Booker puts the kibosh on a persistent political rumor.

Ted Cruz is either being incredibly cynical as he deludes his fellow Republicans, or he’s living in a fantasy world.

The US backed Egyptian government is massacring supporters of the ousted democratically elected government.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are openly disagreeing with a proposed strategy to threaten a government shutdown if Obamacare isn’t repealed.

As expected, President Obama’s latest “pivot” to the economy is less than meets the eye.

Lindsey Graham is playing cynical political games with a dangerous part of the world.

Americans tell pollsters that hate Congress, but they never seem to do anything about it.

Time to “pivot to the economy” again.

Potential trouble for Virginia’s Republican nominee for Governor.