Outside the Beltway

Oregon has become the first state in the nation to adopt universal automatic voter registration.

Another tone deaf action from leading Republicans.

As expected, Republicans have caved in the showdown over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

Another lesson in incompetence in governing from House Republicans.

As expected, President Obama has vetoed the bill that would have authorized the Keystone XL Pipeline.

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

Reflecting a growing national trend away from the barbarity of capital punishment, the Governor of Pennsylvania has imposed a moratorium on executions in the Keystone State.

Some Congressional Democrats are considering skipping a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a Joint Session Of Congress.

Scott Walker surged to the top of a new poll of Iowa Republicans, but Iowa is not a very good predictor of success in the race for the GOP nomination.

Mitt Romney is set to make an announcement at 11 Eastern today. [UPDATE: He’s out!]

For some reason, Republicans want to change filibuster rules even though it’s unclear that they’ll still hold the Senate after 2016.

Advantage: Hillary.

A new Patriots cheating scandal, or much ado about nothing?

The Republican National Committee is trying to bring some sanity to the Presidential debate process, but there’s no guarantee it can succeed.

The two decade long argument over same-sex marriage appears headed for its final legal showdown.

New details in the shooting of 12 year old Tamir Rice raise more questions.

The terror attack in Paris seems likely to undercut GOP efforts to use the DHS budget to attack the President’s immigration policies.

You come at the king, you best not miss.

Some preliminary thoughts on the inaugural college playoff system.

Shortly after the new year, we could know whether or not the Supreme Court will issue a definitive ruling on same-sex marriage by the end of June.

NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot dead while sitting in their patrol car In Brooklyn. And those suggesting that anyone other than the killer has “blood on their hands” are being absurd.

Not surprisingly, the F.C.C. has rejected a petition to ban the word “Redskins” from the airwaves.

The fate of Cuba policy in Congress is far from certain, but what is certain is that following through on President Obama’s historic and necessary changes will face resistance.

The Supreme Court says that police who have a “reasonable” misunderstanding of the law can still pull you over.

You’ve got your playoff College Football fans, as imperfect as it was inevitably going to be.

A crushing but expected defeat for a veteran Democrat.

Michael Brown’s stepfather made incendiary comments in the wake of the Grand Jury announcement, but they do not amount to a crime.

It’s an old story. Republican leadership wants to avoid a government shutdown, but the hard core conservatives want a fight, this time over the President’s immigration action. We have a week to see how it unfolds.

Once again, some people are upset because retailers are opening on Thanksgiving Day, but that’s only because people are coming out to shop.

Columbus, Philadelphia, or New York City (well, Brooklyn really)?

Fresh off his third statewide win in four years, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker appears to be getting ready to run for President.

Based on the available evidence, there’s very little evidence that Voter ID laws had a significant impact on the midterm elections.

An adviser close to Hillary Clinton is talking about expanding the Electoral College map in 2016, but even without such an expansion the GOP faces an uphill battle.

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

The process that seems likely to lead to a Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage has begun.

Republicans don’t really have many options if the President pulls the trigger on immigration reform via executive action.

Much like the disease itself, Ebola panic seems to have disappeared as the midterm elections become ever more distant in the rear view mirror.

After the 2010 elections, several newly Republican state legislatures flirted with the idea of changing the way their state allocates Electoral Votes. The outcome of last weeks elections raises the possibility that this could happen again.

President Obama’s threat to take action on immigration if Congress doesn’t act by the end of the year ignores political reality,