Outside the Beltway

With the top conservative caucus in Congress acquiescing to his candidacy, Paul Ryan is largely certain to become the next Speaker of the House.

Whether they like it or not, it’s becoming quite apparent that Republicans may have to get used to the idea that Donald Trump really could be their nominee next year.

Paul Ryan has never really wanted to be Speaker Of The House, but he’s take the job if House Republicans meet the conditions he’s set out.

Paul Ryan has yet to say if he will run for Speaker of the House, but that hasn’t stopped the opposition on the hard right from forming already.

While a brilliant and accomplished man, he’s absolutely clueless about politics and world affairs.

Yes, Ben Carson’s comments about the debt ceiling are silly, but it’s the fact that a lot of Republicans agree with him that’s dangerous.

With just a day to go before House Republicans pick their candidate for Speaker, conservatives don’t seem to be able to unify behind a candidate.

Quietly, Florida Senator Marco Rubio has been moving close to the front f the race for the Republican Presidential nomination.

Congress will get a temporary funding bill passed in time to avoid a shutdown on Thursday, but it may just be delaying the inevitable.

Trump remains in the lead, but he has been steadily falling over the month of September. (And this triggers, as these things do, musings about institutions and our party system).

John Boehner let loose on the “false prophets” on the right yesterday, and he’s absolutely right.

Big news out of Washington, D.C.

Two gone: 14 to go.

The latest effort by conservative Republicans to oust John Boehner appears to be coming to an unsurprising end.

Donald Trump is back to hurling insults at his opponents, but it’s unlikely his supporters are going to care.

Speaker John Boehner seems likely to see another leadership threat from fellow Republicans this fall.

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

Some Republicans are threatening a government shutdown over funding of Planned Parenthood, but a new poll shows that it would be a big political risk for Republicans.

Two candidates with no experience in elected office are leading the Republican field.

Donald Trump is still in the lead of the Republican circus, but the rest of the field remains uncertain in the wake of the first debate.

The Senate Majority Leader says there will be no immigration reform while Obama is President. This is unlikely to help the GOP’s already serious problems with Latino voters.

Donald’s Trump’s campaign is the logical conclusion of more than a decade of emotion-drive, substance-free politics.

Donald Trump’s campaign seems to be making a play for whatever portion of the GOP it may be that still likes Sarah Palin.

The first of a series of polls in anticipation of next week’s debate shows Donald Trump still at the top, with a surprise coming out of Ohio.

A little known Congressman from North Carolina has filed a motion to “remove” John Boehner from the Speakership.

His remarks about John McCain’s military service don’t seem to be hurting Donald Trump with Republican true believers.

Despite his remarks about John McCain, Donald Trump is likely to be around for some time to come.

Republicans have nobody to blame but themselves for the anti-immigrant Frankenstein in their midst.

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

It was a close vote, but Virginia’s Republican leaders did the smart thing yesterday in picking a primary over a convention in 2016.

Virginia Republicans are deciding later this week how they will make their choice in the 2016 Presidential Race. And they may end up regretting their decision.

Whether Republicans are ready or not, Donald Trump is coming.

Rick Perry is hoping to do something that hasn’t happened before in American politics, come back from a campaign that imploded.

Lindsey Graham is the latest entrant into the Presidential race, but it’s hard to see how he gets out of the bottom of the polls.

The Iowa Straw Poll seems to be dying, and that’s a good thing.

The largely conservative state of Nebraska seems to be on the verge of repealing its law authorizing capital punishment.

For reasons only he can understand. South Carolina’s senior Senator will be entering the race for the White House early next month.

Two Republican candidates for President say that Republican elected officials should simply ignore the Supreme Court if it strikes down bans on same-sex marriage.

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.

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.

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

The Justice Department will not pursue contempt charges against Lois Lerner because it has determined that she did not waive her rights under the Fifth Amendment.

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