Outside the Beltway

Once again, pretty much everybody hates Congress. However, it’s unclear if that will matter come Election Day.

When it comes to the unfolding conflict inside the GOP, Mitch McConnell seems to have fired an opening shot.

Do prayers opening legislative sessions violate the First Amendment? The Supreme Court is set to decide that issue.

A better than expected jobs report in October, but one that comes with a few caveats.

Accusations of blame are already being tossed around about why Republicans lost in Virginia, and they mirror a broader debate in the Republican Party nationally.

A good initial GDP report for the 3rd Quarter, but hardly something to write home about.

Republicans are contending that the nearly won the Virginia Governor’s race by emphasizing Obamacare in the closing weeks, but the evidence supporting that contention is far from clear.

The race for Virginia Governor turned out to be much closer than many predicted, but that should not be a surprise.

87.18% of the caucus is elected from safe to very safe districts and, therefore, the only real fear that they might have for their jobs would be at the primary stage.

A majority of Americans now disapprove of President Obama’s performance and a whopping 70 percent think the country is moving in the wrong direction.

There’s still a week to go in Virginia’s Governor’s race, but it’s clear that this race is effectively over.

The latest revelations about National Security Agency surveillance outside the United States have caused quite an uproar overseas.

With debate season over, it’s looking less and less likely that Virginia Republicans will be able to hold back the Democrats on November 5th.

Several conservative groups have jumped on the bandwagon of what appears to be a controversial Mississippi politician.

Nothing to write home about in the September Jobs Report.

My latest for The National Interest, “The Military and the Shutdown: Assessing the Damage,” is out.

Polling looks bleak for the GOP right now, but it’s unclear what that will mean a year from now.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has endorsed “none of the above” for governor of Virginia.

Will the GOP learn the right lessons from the just-concluded showdown? That remains to be seen.

Immigration reform may be the next big battle on Capitol Hill, but it’s going to be far different from the one that just concluded.

Ted Cruz isn’t ruling out a reprise of his foolish, quixotic, crusade.

Absent an unlikely major change, it looks like the Democrats will win the Governor’s race in Virginia

John Boehner’s position as Speaker of the House seems quite secure.

Nearly two-thirds of House Republicans voted for default. They lost.

The GOP’s shutdown was about as pointless as a show about waiting for a table in a Chinese restaurant.

A plan finally starting to come together?

The House wasted a day yesterday, now it’s crunch time.

Well, so much for that plan.

It looks like the House will be making its move before the Senate acts, but that may actually help resolve this faster.

The deal emerging out of the talks between Senator Reid and Senator McConnell is about what you’d expect, but it’s probably the best we can expect right now.

As long as we’re tacking on unrelated measures in order to secure a deal to end the government shutdown-debt ceiling standoff, why not some related measures?

The presence of politicians like Sarah Palin at yesterday’s “Million Veteran March” was not appreciated by the people who organized the protest.

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

Conservatives gathered on the National Mall today to protest the closure of memorials, but their message seems really intended for Republicans in Congress to not back down.

Talks between the two Senate leaders haven’t exactly gone so well.

A little noticed rule change in the House is arguably one of the main reasons we’re in a government shutdown crisis.

Harry and Mitch to the rescue?