Outside the Beltway

Marco Rubio is often described as one of the GOP’s leaders on foreign policy, but a close look reveals a decided lack of substance.

Hillary Clinton’s political and personal baggage is likely to be a bigger problem for her than whomever her Republican opponent ends up being.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is now appealing to the worst aspects of economic populism on the right.

The GOP race remains tight, but some candidates have benefited from their entry into the race more than others. Overall, though, Hillary Clinton continues to dominate.

Five years after it became law, the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act appears to be over.

Pundits and political scientists agree that, if the 2016 presidential election were today, we’d have a much better idea who would win.

Like nearly all of his fellow Republicans, Jeb Bush has adopted the disastrous foreign policy views that typified his brother’s Presidency.

Conditioning an Iranian nuclear deal on recognition of Israel is foolish, unrealistic, and very bad diplomacy.

Ben Carson will be entering the race for President next month, but don’t pretend for a minute that he’s a serious candidate.

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.

Legislators in Tennessee have taken the “gun rights” argument further than it was ever intended to go.

His poll numbers are down, the GOP base is not hospitable, but Chris Christie still seems to be thinking about running for President.

Rand Paul has changed position on several foreign policy issues, but he doesn’t seem to want to talk about it.

Rand Paul is the latest Republican to enter the race, but his path to even becoming a contender is a difficult one at best.

Scott Walker’s response to the Iranian nuclear deal is perhaps the most irresponsible so far.

Jeb Bush is leading the latest poll of the 2016 Republican race and Ted Cruz has surged since he entered the race, but the race is just beginning.

Some Republicans are trying to move their party in the right direction on marriage equality, but it’s unclear if they will succeed in the short term.

Rand Paul has been cozying up to social conservatives lately, but he risks alienating the people most likely to support his campaign for the White House.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is getting ready to jump into the race for President, but he has an uphill fight ahead of him.

More than ever before, even mild criticism of Israel seems to be verboten among Republicans.

Two weeks after the email story broke, there’s no sign that Hillary Clinton is losing ground in the 2016 race.

Ben Carson is inching closer to running for President, and he’s continuing to pander to the most extreme elements of the Republican Party.

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

Just as his political star is rising among conservatives, Scott Walker is walking back his previous support for immigration reform.

Polling indicates that the American public opposes the GOP position on DHS funding, but that’s unlikely to change many minds on Capitol Hill.

A theme that just won’t go away.

A new poll of 2016 primary voters shows that even Republicans are coming to accept that gays and lesbians should have the right to get married.

By a wide margin Americans think it was wrong of the GOP to invite Israel’s Prime Minister to speak to Congress.

Justice Ginsburg acknowledges the fact that, over the past nineteen years, same-sex marriage has gone from something that most Americans oppose to something that most Americans are willing to accept.

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.

By inviting Prime Minister Netanyahu to address Congress, Republicans are damaging the U.S. relationship with Israel.

Conservatives finally seem to be waking up to the truth about Sarah Palin.

The House was set to vote on a ban on abortion after 20 weeks that never would have become law today but they pulled the bill. Conservatives are annoyed, but it was smart politics in the long run.

The State Of The Union Address was more of the same, and the same will be true of Washington going forward.

The Tea Party may be the most vocal wing of the GOP but most Republicans seems to favor candidates that aren’t quite so right wing.

Mitt Romney certainly seems to be running for president again. And he’s now on at least his third reinvention.

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

Even with a House and Senate majority, the GOP is unlikely to get what it wants in its current immigration battle with the President.

He’s tan. He’s rested. And, apparently, he’s ready. Mitt Romney seems very interested in 2016 all of a sudden.

Over the weekend, Mike Huckabee took another step that suggests that he is indeed planning on running for President in 2016.

Two potential candidates for the Republican nomination in 2016 traded barbs this week over the President’s new policy toward Cuba.

Rand Paul is one of the few Republicans who seems to be evaluating the new policy toward Cuba through something other than an outdated Cold War perspective.

The former Florida Governor announced that he’s taking the first step towards running for president in 2016.

Rick Santorum looks to be getting ready to hit the campaign trail again, but it’s doubtful he can find appeal beyond the religious conservatives who supported him in 2012.

Despite opposition from both Republicans and Democrats, the compromise budget resolution passed narrowly last night, but not without some last minute drama

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.

Judging by recent polling, the President’s executive action has hardened GOP opposition to immigration reform, making progress on the issue going forward much less likely.

Even leaving aside the fact that it is far too early to be making such assessments, the idea that Rand Paul is the front runner for the Republican nomination in 2016 fails the logic test.