Outside the Beltway

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, who challenged Nancy Pelosi for a leadership spot in 2016, is telling supporters he’s running for President in 2020.

The midterm elections are still four months away, but Democrats are already making moves to prepare for the race for their party’s Presidential nomination in 2020.

California’s Democratic Party endorsed “progressive” upstart Kevin de León over Senator Dianne Feinstein, but this is unlikely to stop Feinstein from winning election to a sixth term in office.

The Strzok hearing provides a return to this timeworn favorite.

The Democratic National Committee is one step closer to adopting a rule change that would make superdelegates largely irrelevant to the party’s nomination process.

In November, Michigan voters will be able to make their state the tenth state to legalize marijuana. This is just the latest step in what seems to be an irreversible trend.

The calls to “Abolish ICE” are spreading to potential candidates for the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination.

There is a frustration and a growing sense that the American political system is illegitimate.

Democrats have adopted a new rule requiring future candidates for President to certify that they are Democrats, but it seems largely unenforceable.

The Trump Administration’s School Safety Commission isn’t getting off to a very good start.

As he has in the past, Bernie Sanders will seek the Democratic nomination for Senate in Vermont but won’t accept the nomination if he wins.

Eleven states plus DC, who have 172 of the 270 electoral votes needed to elect a President, are now part of the compact.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans support marijuana legalization according to a new poll.

Republicans joined with Democrats to advance a bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but it’s unlikely to go anywhere beyond that.

The highest ranking Democrat in the Senate has introduced a bill that would effectively decriminalize marijuana nationwide and leave it up to each state to decide how far they wish to go with regard to cannabis regulation. It’s a huge step in the right direction.

Republicans have been hoping that the tax bill passed in December would help them in the midterms. That’s appearing to be less and less likely by the day.

John Boehner is now pro-weed. The world just keeps getting weirder, man.

Late last week, Hawaii became the seventh state and eighth major American jurisdiction to legalize assisted suicide.

Like many Presidents before him, Donald Trump wants a line-item veto. Getting there won’t be easy, nor should it be.

Andrew McCabe, fired for a “lack of candor,” ordered an investigation of the Attorney General for a “lack of candor.”

The near-impossible happened last night, demonstrating why March Madness is the most exciting and most absurd way to pick a champion.

A big win for gun control advocates in a deeply Republican state.

The Federal Government has fired another shot in the ongoing war over so-called “sanctuary cities.”

The 80-year-old Mississippi Republican, who was first elected to the Senate in 1978 after serving six years in the House, has been in poor health.

A Federal Judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to invalidate Federal laws against marijuana use and possession.

A Federal Court in New York City is set to hear argument tomorrow in a case that essentially argues that a large swath of Federal laws regarding marijuana are unconstitutional.

Two Amtrak crashes in less than a week is newsworthy. It is not, however, a trend.

With just hours to go, it seems increasingly unlikely that the Senate can reach a deal to keep the government open.

The early numbers in the battle to control Congress look good for Democrats, but there are are a number of caveats to keep in mind.

Sixteen Senators are backing a single-payer system. Another forty-four to go.

We’re a long way away from the start of the 2020 election cycle, but Democrats are already maneuvering for support and money.

Kamala Harris has joined Bernie Sanders’ call for creation of a single-payer healthcare system.

A Congressman was shot, and a staffer and security detail members injured, at a practice session for tomorrow’s Congressional baseball game.

Even the most offensive speech is protected by the First Amendment.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch even as it became inevitable that Republicans would be forced to invoke the ‘nuclear option’ to confirm him to the Supreme Court.

Next week’s big news is likely to be the Senate’s vote to confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, which could mean invocation of the so-called ‘nuclear option’ by Senate Republicans.

More fireworks on the second day of the questioning of Neil Gorsuch, but his confirmation nonetheless seems assured.

A new head for the DNC at a time when the Democratic Party finds itself reeling and eager to take on Donald Trump.

While hardly the most compelling argument against an archaic institution, yesterday’s silliness was noteworthy.

One professor is suggesting that Bernie Sanders played a role in 2016 similar to the one that Ralph Nader did in 2000. It doesn’t pass even cursory examination.

In what seems like a replay of the primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, some top Democratic Party leadership positions may be in jeopardy.

The fight for marijuana legalization advances in California.

With the lone exception of Bill Clinton in 1996, Arizona hasn’t gone for a Democrat since 1948. That streak could end this year.

With twenty-one days to go until Election Day, things are looking very good for Hillary Clinton.

Clinton stumbles and leaves an event early, leading to the news that her campaign has been withholding health information from the press.

The “independent conservative” running for President is finding it hard to even get on the ballot.