Outside the Beltway

Embattled New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez has dodged a bullet, but still faces uncertain prospects for reelection.

A train carrying Republican Congressmen and Senators, and their families, was involved in a crash in western Virginia.

The President talked about national unity last night, but given his own rhetoric as a candidate and as a President, it’s a call that seems to be hypocritical.

Andrew McCabe has stepped down as the FBI’s number two after months of attacks from President Trump.

And a little Electoral College for good measure.

While final votes remain to be taken, the Federal Government shutdown effectively ended this afternoon with an overwhelming bipartisan vote to reopen the government, combined with a commitment from Republicans to consider a DACA bill over the next three weeks. What happens next, though, is entirely uncertain.

As the Federal Government shutdown moves into the work week, there are some rumors of a possible deal, but nothing concrete and the lack of trust between the two parties could make a deal hard to achieve.

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

The GOP’s potential troubles in 2018 don’t just exist at the Congressional level.

That “Romney for Senate” campaign seems pretty much inevitable.

Once again, President Trump opens his mouth and proceeds to insult a good part of the world while embarrassing the country.

The numbers aren’t looking good for Republican prospects in this year’s midterm elections.

A Federal Court in North Carolina has issued a stinging ruling against the partisan gerrymandering undertaken by the Republican legislature in that state.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is making it clear she has no intention of leaving office before the 2020 election.

Republican David Yancy was declared the winner of a disputed election, giving the GOP a slim one-seat majority in the state’s House of Delegates.

Attempts to pre-pay property taxes lead to confusion and frustration.

The battle for control of the Virginia House of Delegates remains up in the air as both sides continue to dispute the outcome in one district.

One for the textbooks.

After nearly twenty years, the Republican domination of the Virginia House of Delegates came to an end thanks to a single vote.

A Trump judicial nominee who could not answer basic legal questions in a hearing last week has withdrawn his nomination, but this is likely to happen again unless the Administration fixes some obvious flaws in its selection process.

Some Democratic Senators are suggesting that Al Franken should reconsider his decision to resign from the Senate.

Meet Matthew Peterson, a nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia who apparently doesn’t know much about trials.

Roy Moore’s loss in Alabama is bringing out into the open a civil war that has been going on for seven years now.

The Supreme Court declined to hear a major case regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation, but the issue is likely to come up again in the very near future.

Polling remains uncertain in the Alabama Senate race, but the odds favor Roy Moore.

The Washington Post exposes another James O’Keefe fraud.

Even a ceremony honoring American heroes wasn’t immune from President Trump’s habit of attacking racial minorities.

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.

Charles Manson, who led a cult-like “family” to a series of murders in 1969 and subsequently spent more than 40 years in prison, has died at the age of 83.

New Jersey Senate Bob Menendez has temporarily dodged a bullet, but his ultimate fate is far from clear.

The Moore situation illustrates the nonhierarchical nature of US parties. This is nothing new.

Will Joe Biden be ‘tan, rested, and ready’ enough to take on 2020?

Republicans have a Donald Trump problem, and they can’t run away from it.

Democrats, Republicans, and Independents came out for an an election that can only been seen as a strong rebuke to President Trump and the Republican Party.

To nobody’s surprise, a blue state returns to its roots.

With less than forty-eight hours to go, the race for Virginia’s Governor is tighter than ever.

Due mostly to cowardice and naked self-interest, you shouldn’t expect many other Republicans to speak out against Trump in the near future.

America has become involved in conflicts around the world, largely without the knowledge of the American people or the consent of their representatives, and it doesn’t appear that’s going to end anytime soon.

President Obama spoke out yesterday against his successor and the America he has created.

Without mentioning his successor by name, former President Bush delivered a stinging rebuke to Trump and Trumpism.

New polling shows Democratic nominee Ralph Northam continuing to lead Republican Ed Gillespie in the Virginia Governor’s race, but anything is still possible with three weeks to go until Election Day.

A complicated concurrence to Steven Taylor’s recent postings.

The nation’s only competitive Governor’s this year appears to be going in favor of the Democratic candidate.

Don’t hold your breath, but the Las Vegas shooting may actually prompt Congress to do something.

Stephen Paddock’s crime was clearly terrorizing, and will impact the lives of survivors, families, first responders in many ways for a long time. Based on the currently available evidence, though, the Las Vegas shooting was not “terrorism.”

A new poll shows that Donald Trump could end up having an impact on the race for Virginia Governor.

More evidence of apparent Russian-backed efforts to interfere in the election.

President Trump’s job approval has improved slightly, but the numbers remain historically low for a newly elected President.

Special counsel Robert Mueller could be looking to “flip” Paul Manafort, giving President Trump and those close to him something new to worry about.

Donald Trump went there again, and in the process reopened a wound that was starting to heal just a little bit.