Outside the Beltway

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clashed in the final debate before the Iowa Caucuses in the context of a race that has appeared to become tighter than it was before Christmas.

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 poll shows that a majority of Americans oppose a ban on so-called ‘assault weapons,’ a marked change from two decades ago.

The Fifth Republican Debate, and the last of 2015, was marked by expected clashes between the candidates, and one that never happened.

The Governors of Connecticut and New York are joining President Obama and Hillary Clinton in favor of a really bad idea.

The 2016 election cycle is seeing “scientific” online polling become more prominent, but it’s unclear just how reliable it is.

Democrat John Bel Edwards scored an easy victory over Senator David Vitter last night in Louisiana, and Vitter announced that he’d be leaving the Senate after his term is up.

In the wake of President Obama’s to send Special Forces to Syria, a new poll finds the public doesn’t like the idea very much.

Meet Ted Cruz: Religious Bigot

Well this could be a game changer.

Will Canada ditch FPTP?

Canada’s Liberal Party ran on a platform that includes nationwide marijuana legalization. With the election won, it seems only a matter of time before Canadians will be able to light up legally.

A political earthquake north of the border.

If pre-election polling is to be believed, Stephan Harper and Canada’s Conservative Party seem likely to lose power after Monday’s elections, but there are several reasons why this may not end up being the case.

In addition to doing everything she needed to do last night, Hillary Clinton also destroyed whatever logic remained for a Joe Biden candidacy.

Two candidates with no political experienced whatsoever are tied in Iowa as Republican voters continue to reject anyone with political experience.

If the Administration gets its way, efforts to block the Iran nuclear deal may come to a quick end in the Senate.

Public opinion on the Supreme Court has declined significantly, largely because Republicans don’t like the Supreme Court very much right now.

Finally.

A new poll shows that solid majorities of Americans support the Supreme Court’s decisions on Obamacare subsidies and marriage. It’s a different story for Republicans.

The events of the past two weeks could allow the Republican Party to move forward.

The US Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that the U.S. Constitution contains a right to same-sex marriage.

A new poll shows that Hillary Clinton remains largely unstoppable on her quest for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, and she has a pretty clear path to the White House as well.

Jeb Bush’s campaign launch seems to be going well so far, while Rand Paul and Ted Cruz (and Donald Trump) seem to be slipping.

More Democrats are calling themselves “liberal” than they have in years. Republicans, too.

Hillary Clinton opened a new phase in her campaign for President yesterday with a speech in New York City.

Turkey’s governing party suffered big setbacks at the ballot box yesterday.

One more on this topic.

Martin O’Malley is running for President for some reason.

Thwarted by the legislature, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal used his executive power to take action that seems directed more toward evangelicals in Iowa than anything happening in his home state.

It’s complicated. And probably not a scandal.

In a marked departure from recent cases, the Supreme Court rules that states can impose significant restriction on solicitation of campaign contributions in judicial elections.

Bernie Sanders is running for President. He’s not going to win, but he’s not running because he thinks he can win.

Even for political junkies, the thrill seems to be gone.

Some thoughts on a column by Roger Noriega on the Obama administration and Latin America,

Marco Rubio is the first Republican in the race who actually has a plausible chance to win the nomination, but it’s not going to be easy.

Another setback for those opposed to Voter ID laws.

Ted Cruz kicks off with the first of what is likely to be a string of candidates getting into the 2016 race in the coming month.

Most in the international relations community are not amused by the president’s National Security Strategy.

The first popularly elected African-American Senator, and the first African-American Senator to serve since the end of Reconstruction ended, has passed away.

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.

The next President will have a profound ability to shape the future of the Supreme Court, but that is unlikely to be the most important issue on voters minds in 2016.

Well, so much for that “people’s revolt” that brought down a military dictator.

Today is a day for turkey and football, not a day for politics.

A critic of the imperial presidency becomes an imperial president.

Another round of election losses is leading Democrats to contemplate the direction they should take going forward.