Outside the Beltway

Has the Romney campaign foolishly abandoned its best argument against the President?

There’s little evidence that Vice-Presidential picks have as big an impact on elections as pundits seem to think.

If a new Gallup poll is any indication, Paul Ryan was not a great pick.

Both campaigns seem to be focusing on an argument that the voters don’t want to hear.

Mitt Romney has effectively rebooted his campaign by picking Paul Ryan, but he’s also handed the President a powerful weapon.

The Obama campaign has begun to respond to the addition of Paul Ryan to the Republican ticket.

Most of the early reaction on the right consider’s the selection of Paul Ryan a smart move on Mitt Romney’s part, but you could also say it’s just risky.

He’s no Sarah Palin but Paul Ryan doesn’t make immediate sense as Romney’s running mate.

The recent call by many on the right for Mitt Romney to select Paul Ryan as his running mate is puzzling.

While Washington dithers, business owners are starting to worry.

Since Israel’s system is far more “socialist” by American rhetorical standards, I am not sure what his point was.

Provisions in the Affordable Care Act may cause the entire statutory scheme to collapse.

Once again, a pundit has come up with the boneheaded idea of reinstating the draft.

The House engaged in a mostly pointless action yesterday afternoon.

The GOP’s arguments about the impact of ObamaCare on Medicare are dishonest and hypocritical.

If the GOP wins in November, there will be very few actual barriers in the way if they really want to repeal the PPACA.

The Republican strategy on health care in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision needs some tweaking.

Chief Justice Roberts sided with a majority in upholding the individual mandate and, indeed, all but some trivial portions of the Affordable Care Act.

Thomas Friedman continues his quixotic quest for a third party. His candidate: a fantasy Barack Obama.

Bill Clinton walks back his comments about extending the Bush Tax Cuts in the most unbelievable manner possible.

An unsurprising decision on the Defense of Marriage.

Alan Simpson is imparting wisdom to his fellow Republicans. I doubt they will listen.

The battle lines are being drawn for another showdown over the debt ceiling.

This week’s hearings in the Supreme Court caught many proponents of the Affordable Care Act off guard.

The old have most of the money and power in our society, a trend that is accelerating.

Is the now-familiar refrain that the individual mandate was originally a conservative idea really true?

Obama has borrowed slightly more money in 3 years than Bush did in 8. Does it matter?

The US spends more government money on healthcare per capita than the likes of Germany, France, Canada, Sweden, and Holland!

Mitt Romney’s campaign gives us a lesson in how not to stage a “major” economic speech.

Last night’s debate may have been the last one. It was also the least informative.

The NYT has an interesting piece on the ongoing limted v. big governemnt debate.

Yep, more gridlock.

David Frum begins a withering review for The Daily Beast, “Charles Murray’s Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 is an important book that will have large influence. It is unfortunately not a good book.”

The latest projections from Congressional Budget Office are sobering to say the least.

Requiring a religious institution to comply with civilian laws is not a violation of religious liberty.

Mitch Daniels got the unenviable task of responding to the State Of The Union Address last night.

Conservatives seem to believe that Newt Gingrich can beat Barack Obama merely by debating him. They are delusional.

After having so much influence in 2010, the Tea Party is finding itself adrift in the search for a Republican nominee in 2012.

Rick Santorum’s views on the role of government are somewhat disturbing.

The Republican candidates for President have apparently forgotten that this guy was their party’s nominee twice.

Understanding the state of the GOP field requires recognizing that President Obama is actually pretty moderate.