Outside the Beltway

Less than a week before what may be the most important week of the campaign, Donald Trump is in very good shape. Marco Rubio and John Kasich? Not so much.

Hilary Clinton crushed Bernie Sanders in Mississippi, but was surprised by Bernie Sanders in Michigan. Nonetheless she still remains in control of the race.

Bernie Sanders was more aggressive in last night’s debate than he has been in the past, but it’s likely too little, too late.

Bernie Sanders won two of the three Democratic contests last night, but he fell further behind in the delegate count any way and isn’t very far from being mathematically eliminated.

As expected, Hillary Clinton won big last night while Bernie Sanders largely floundered, thus going further toward making Clinton’s victory inevitable.

It’s Super Tuesday, and both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are likely to go a long way toward securing the nominations of their respective parties.

There’s little doubt that Hillary Clinton will win today’s South Carolina Primary, the only question is how big a win she’s likely to score.

Notwithstanding polling that indicates the American public disagrees with them, Senate Republicans emerged from a meeting today largely united on the idea of not giving any Supreme Court nominee named by President a hearing, or even the courtesy of a meeting.

The American people do not seem to support the Republican position on whether President Obama’s expected Supreme Court nominee should get proper consideration by the Senate.

Conservatives are sending a message to Senate Republicans about the vacancy on the Supreme Court, and it may require them to initiate a suicidal game plan.

Donald Trump hasn’t hit the point of inevitability yet, but time is running short if Republicans are going to stop him.

Republicans are putting much on the line in their refusal to consider any Supreme Court nomination from President Obama.

The economy is booming. Except where it’s not.

After oral argument today in a high profile case, it appears likely that public employee unions are likely to suffer a major legal defeat later this year.

A new study suggests that being a national leader may shorten your expected lifespan.

The Justice Department has launched a widespread investigation into the operation of the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the murder of LaQuan McDonald.

The Supreme Court has declined to accept an appeal challenging a law barring certain types of so-called ‘assault weapons’ in a Chicago suburb.

The no-fly list is a flawed, arbitrary mess that has kept innocent people from flying for years. Using it to deny people rights recognized by the Constitution is, quite honestly, insane.

The probability that the shootings in San Bernardino were at least inspired by ISIS and/or other Jihadist terror networks is increasing.

The suspects in the San Bernardino shootings are dead, but that’s about all we know so far this morning.

The October 2014 shooting of 17 year old LaQuan McDonald is beginning to have a political impact in Chicago and could have national political implications as well.

For good reason, many Republicans are worried about the prospect that Donald Trump could end up winning the Republican nominee, but they don’t seem to have a plan to stop him.

To a large degree, the narrative you believe will govern the 2016 elections depend on which party you want to see win. But what’s the most likely outcome?

Syrian refugees have quickly become political footballs in the United States in the wake of the Paris attacks, and it’s become an exceedingly shameful display of pandering and fearmongering by a group of largely Republican politicians.

Donald Trump’s latest tirade has led to another round of speculation as to whether or not he’s ‘gone too far’ and reached the beginning of the end of his campaign. Don’t count on it.

Forget about Congress, the real story going forward is likely to be Republican dominance of state legislatures nationwide.

President Obama came to office inheriting the legacy of one unnecessary war, and another that had faded from memory. He will leave office with Iraq and Syria in crisis, Europe uneasy, Yemen and Libya unstable breeding grounds for terrorism, and China doing whatever it is they’re doing.

With only a handful of opposition, Paul Ryan was easily elected the 62nd Speaker of the House.

Two new polls show that political efforts to enact more stringent gun control at the national level are not likely to succeed.

The marriage equality issue is resolved, but that doesn’t mean the Supreme Court won’t have a lot of high profile cases on its docket over the next eight months.

Some House Republicans are trying to delay the vote on the Iran Nuclear Deal with an argument that has no merit whatsoever.

A teenager in North Carolina is facing serious criminal charges in another absurd overreaction to teenager “sexting.”

Thanks in part to a slow summer news cycle, the speculation about Vice-President Biden entering the race for President seems to be reaching a fever pitch.

Somewhat surprisingly, a jury in Colorado was unable to agree on a unanimous death sentence for Aurora movie theater shooter James Holmes.

The Iran nuclear deal will probably survive it’s test in Congress in the end, but Chuck Schumer just made the Administration’s job a little more difficult.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a major case about public employee unions that could go a long way toward restraining their power.

The people who continue to claim that the Confederate Flag is about anything other than hatred, racism, and a nation that celebrated slavery are lying to you and to themselves.

Thanks largely to a series of court decisions, same-sex marriage is effectively legal in all of Mexico.

A new Michigan law allows religious-affiliated adoption agencies to turn away parents for religious reasons, and it seems fairly obvious what the target is in this case.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker isn’t officially a candidate for President yet, but he’s doing quite well in Iowa anyway.

The next shoe drops in the Dennis Hastert case.

Despite a veto from the state’s Governor, today Nebraska became the latest state to repeal the death penalty. Hopefully, others will follow.

Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is continuing his absurd and dangerous war on the Supreme Court.

Hillary Clinton has admitted she made a mistake in supporting the Iraq War in 2002, but there are plenty of other questions she needs to answer when it comes to foreign interventions.