Outside the Beltway

A Federal Court in New York City is set to hear argument tomorrow in a case that essentially argues that a large swath of Federal laws regarding marijuana are unconstitutional.

Donald Trump has blocked the release of a memo prepared by House Intelligence Committee Democrats to rebut the Nunes memo. It’s hard not to see this as a blatantly partisan move.

While most of America slept, the government was shutdown thanks to some faux theatrics by a single Senator.

Congress seems likely to pass a budget deal today that will massively increase spending, putting to rest once and for all the rank hypocrisy of Republicans when it comes to claims that they are “fiscally conservative.”

With Republicans fully in control in Washington, their concerns about the budget deficit seem to have disappeared.

Imagine a world where Hillary Clinton was President and stood accused of the same things Donald Trump and his campaign are currently under investigation for.

It’s been seven years since Congress eliminated earmarking, and what we’ve seen has provided good evidence for the argument that it should never have been eliminated.

Some Democratic Senators are suggesting that Al Franken should reconsider his decision to resign from the Senate.

A Los Angeles reporter says that Minnesota Senator Al Franken groped her and engaged in other inappropriate conduct during a 2006 USO tour.

More indications that Donald Trump Jr. was heavily involved in Trump campaign efforts to coordinate with foreign contacts regarding damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

The White House believes that it is ‘inappropriate’ to question Generals. This argument is not only wrong, it’s downright dangerous.

While there are real differences between what’s being reported about White House officials such as Jared Kushner and what Hillary Clinton did, the charge of hypocrisy is well-founded.

Yes, even Nazis must have their rights to peaceful speech and assembly protected.

It’s not the time away from the White House that matters, it’s the hypocrisy.

The President is being fed “news” from questionable news sources, and that’s a problem.

Stop romanticizing the filibuster (and don’t appeal to the intent of the Founders).

Lt. General Michael Flynn wants immunity before he agrees to testify before Congress. This could be significant, or it could mean nothing at all.

The tu quoque presidency rocks on.

There were fireworks on the floor of the Senate last night, but it was really just politics as usual.

The President throws the US under the bus to defend Putin.

So what’s wrong with the Whitelash Backlash thesis?  Not everything, actually.  But plenty.

John McCain said that Senate Republicans will unite to block any Supreme Court appointment by a President Hillary Clinton.

The reputation of the US matters in global affairs.

For Donald Trump at least, the start of the General Election campaign is the perfect time to dredge up decades old conspiracy theories.

The coming political battle over President Obama’s effort to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia will likely be unlike anything we’ve seen before.

Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz landed some punches on Donald Trump last night, but it’s doubtful that they changed the nature of the race.

The politicization of Supreme Court appointments didn’t start with Republicans last night.

Politics makes strange bedfellows, but come on.

Instead of eliminating the Department of Education, Ben Carson wants to give it a new, bizarre, and dangerous mission.

Most of the Republican candidates for President would rather support a lawbreaker than the Rule of Law. The American people should judge them accordingly.

A new poll shows that Americans have moved to the left on a wide variety of social issues.

Marco Rubio seems to be in lockstep with the extreme social conservatives when it comes to same-sex marriage.

A minimum wage for thee, but not for me.

House Republicans are set to vote on a bill banning abortion in almost all cases after twenty weeks. What they can’t do is explain where the Constitution gives Congress the power to do this.

Now that they control all of Congress, some Republicans are suddenly deciding that the filibuster should be repealed.

With three days to go, there are signs the GOP is ready to give up on its showdown over DHS funding.

Daniel Larison is far less ambivalent about our war on ISIL than me.

Explaining my ambivalence around the latest escalation in our intervention.

The GOP Senate Caucus seems to be split on whether or not to reinstate the filibuster for Presidential and Judicial appointments.

On substance, the President’s immigration actions aren’t very objectionable. How he is implementing them, though, is problematic and seems needlessly confrontational.

Because no one, ever, has ever questioned the intelligence of American voters in extemporaneous discussions of politics.

The nastiest campaign ad of the 2014 cycle is here, and Wendy Davis should be ashamed of it.

Just in time for the midterms, Todd Akin is back to remind voters of the GOP’s problems with female voters.

How long should we expect people to work?

Fears about convention goers taking advantage of Colorado’s marijuana laws could harm Denver’s chances of getting the GOP Convention.

When everything’s an outrage, is anything outrageous?

Good intentions aren’t an excuse for failure to follow the law.