Outside the Beltway

The House GOP is moving in an ever more dangerous direction.

Automatic tax hikes and spending cuts took effect at midnight. A deal involving the executive and half of the legislative branch could largely reverse them.

Last January 1, some of us made a series of predictions. Here’s how we did.

An attempt to declare the filibuster unconstitutional has ended in failure.

Norm Ornstein may have written the sillest op-ed of 2012.

The NRA’s response to the Sandy Hook shootings was bizarre to say the least.

The Republican leadership in the House suffered a big loss tonight:.

Grover Norquist has seriously undercut the credibility of the ATR anti-tax pledge.

Robert Bork, the controversial jurist whose failed Supreme Court bid ushered in a new climate in American politics, has died at 85.

Whether it comes now or in January, President Obama is going to win the tax debate.

Pennsylvania Republicans want to do the right thing for the wrong reason.

In a NYT op-ed titled “The Monster of Monticello” Paul Finkelman expresses his befuddlement that people play down Thomas Jefferson’s legacy as a slave owner.

With just about a month to go before we hit the “Fiscal Cliff.” things don’t look good at all.

Republicans need to realize that they are at a disadvantage in the upcoming negotiations regarding the Fiscal Cliff.

Judging by the record of the past decade and a half, movement conservatism has accomplished very little.

Harry Reid appears to be short of the votes he needs to enact filibuster reform.

As we approach the fiscal cliff, there are signs that House Republicans may not be as rigid as they were the past two years.

Republicans are starting to talk about immigration reform, but do they really mean it?

The Supreme Court has agreed to take on another big case.

President Obama seems to have given away the store when it comes to the defense sequestration cuts.

No, the electoral college does not encourage the candidates to pay special attention to the small states.

Yes, government does create jobs.

Not surprisingly, television and reality don’t really coincide.

The Court’s 2012-2013 term begins tomorrow morning, and there are plenty of big cases on the docket.

A lot more people than expected are likely to be hit by the ObamaCare individual mandate tax penalty than previously thought.

The battle over Wisconsin’s public sector union reform continues.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are refusing to provide significant details about their tax plan. That’s a mistake.

When it comes to issues like medical marijuana, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are reading from the same playbook.

The Obama campaign’s 4.5 new private sector jobs claim is true, but only if you forget the first year of the Obama Administration.

I give it a C+/B- (adequate, passing, nothing exceptional).

A legal setback for the Texas Voter ID law, but not much of a political setback for Voter ID laws in general.

Under German law, this ceremony, which Jews believe dates from the time of Abraham, is now illegal.

American politics has been reduced to a charade where all people do is yell at each other.

Congress and the American people have a choice to make between two not very palatable options.

The GOP Platform will include an abortion plank that Todd Akin would love.