Outside the Beltway

Some preliminary thoughts on the inaugural college playoff system.

Shortly after the new year, we could know whether or not the Supreme Court will issue a definitive ruling on same-sex marriage by the end of June.

Two potential candidates for the Republican nomination in 2016 traded barbs this week over the President’s new policy toward Cuba.

More interesting developments from the Supreme Court on what has been one of the biggest legal stories of 2014.

The fate of Cuba policy in Congress is far from certain, but what is certain is that following through on President Obama’s historic and necessary changes will face resistance.

The resumption of diplomatic relations between U.S. and Cuba, and expansion of some commercial trade ties, is historic but it’s only the first step toward the goal of ending an outdated embargo.

An American freed from captivity, and potentially huge changes in America’s diplomatic and trade relationship with Cuba.

The former Florida Governor announced that he’s taking the first step towards running for president in 2016.

As expected, the Senate passed the so-called “Cromnibus,” but not before a self-aggrandizing maneuver by Ted Cruz ended up being exploited by Democrats to pass outstanding nominations.

Rick Santorum looks to be getting ready to hit the campaign trail again, but it’s doubtful he can find appeal beyond the religious conservatives who supported him in 2012.

Some on the left are suggesting Democrats should write off the South for the foreseeable future, but that would be as foolish as Republicans assuming that their dominance in the region will last as long as Democratic dominance did in the century after the Civil War.

Even leaving aside the fact that it is far too early to be making such assessments, the idea that Rand Paul is the front runner for the Republican nomination in 2016 fails the logic test.

The GOP donor class would like the 2016 race to be short and sweet, but that’s unlikely to happen.

For the fourth time in three years, a Federal Court has ruled that Florida’s law requiring drug tests for welfare recipients is unconstitutional.

You’ve got your playoff College Football fans, as imperfect as it was inevitably going to be.

A crushing but expected defeat for a veteran Democrat.

The House approved a bill to protest the President’s executive action on immigration that will go nowhere. The question is whether it will placate the right.

A wholly successfully first test for NASA’s next generation manned space vehicle.

Texas has joined with 16 other states in a lawsuit against the Obama Administration over the President’s executive action on immigration. At first glance, it doesn’t appear to have much legal merit.

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.

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

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

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

For better or worse, Marion Barry was a fixture in D.C. politics for much of the 40 year period of home rule that began in 1975.

An adviser close to Hillary Clinton is talking about expanding the Electoral College map in 2016, but even without such an expansion the GOP faces an uphill battle.

Much like the disease itself, Ebola panic seems to have disappeared as the midterm elections become ever more distant in the rear view mirror.

Mike Huckabee seems to be making the moves necessary to run for President again, For reasons only he can understand.

After the 2010 elections, several newly Republican state legislatures flirted with the idea of changing the way their state allocates Electoral Votes. The outcome of last weeks elections raises the possibility that this could happen again.

A popular idea that does nothing useful while simultaneously violating the Constitution.

The GOP is dominant in the Southern United States, but it’s unlikely to last as long as Democratic dominance of the region did.

Republicans performed better among Latino voters this year than they did in 2012, but that doesn’t mean they’ve solved their problems.

Voter Turnout was lower this year than in any midterm since the one held eleven months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

In addition to gains at the national level and in Governor’s races, the GOP also saw more gains in state legislatures around the country.

Support for legalizing marijuana continues to grow slowly but surely.

Dana Milbank (“Obama’s big immigration mistake”) thinks so.

The Supreme Court heard argument this week in a case involving a somewhat strange application of Federal law.

Tuesday’s Republican wave didn’t change the fundamentals.

Despite speculation, both Angus King and Joe Manchin will stay with the Democratic caucus. And that makes sense for both of them.

The Republican wave extended even to Governor’s races that, in any other year, they should have lost.

Big victories for advocates of marijuana legalization.

Time to look into the crystal ball.

Early numbers seem to suggest that it depends on which state you’re looking at.

There’s nothing wrong with choosing not to vote.