Outside the Beltway

Rick Santorum has some extreme views on social welfare. Of course, he isn’t alone.

A new ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals raises a host of questions.

I’ll be liveblogging tonight’s Republican national security debate over at RealClearWorld along with a solid team of foreign policy analyst

A Democrat sees doom and gloom as far as the eye can see.

Apparently, we should be more like China. Or something.

The Occupy movement is starting to face the reality that they really aren’t engaging in protected speech.

Jerry Sandusky, the longtime defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team, is being charged with eight counts of child sex abuse.

Increasing taxes on the rich may be a fiscal policy worth talking about, but it won’t make the poor richer.

There’s no consensus for European-style social democracy or a Randian libertarian paradise.

Have Republicans been co-opted by the Big Government they claim to hate?

The Tea Party flame was lit by the battle over TARP, but they quickly forgot about those bailouts that supposedly upset them so much.

Romney consolidated his position as the presumptive nominee, Perry continued his disintegration, Cain discovered what it was like to be a serious candidate, and Bachmann doubled down on crazy.

By looking only in one direction, Occupy Wall Street is missing the big picture.

In response to a poignant collection of tales of suffering from the worst economy in decades, some conservative activists have put up a juvenile collection of “suck it, losers” posts.

Elizabeth Warren has a deeply flawed view of our social contract.

Better or worse?

President Obama is proposing a special tax rate for millionaires.

Where do we stand after 224 years?

Contrary to what Eugene Robinson and Paul Krugman argue today, compassion does not require one to support government social welfare programs.

James Carville has some advice for Barack Obama. It boils down to “be like Bill Clinton.”

Last week’s opinions from the Fourth Circuit provide an avenue for the Supreme Court to avoid an early ruling on the individual mandate.

Asserting the Social Security needs reform is one thing. Asserting its failure is another.

Jon Huntsman is out with a tax and jobs plan that deserves a lot more attention than it’s likely to get.

How would a Democrat-equivalent of Rick Perry be received?

Florida’s new law requiring welfare recipients to pass drug tests seems to clearly violate the Fourth Amendment.

Is America’s political system to blame for our current problems?

My first piece for CNN has been posted at Fareed Zakaria’s Global Public Square.

Rubio may be wowing conservatives audience, but is his rhetoric grounded in reality?

Rick Perry’s vision of capitalism doesn’t exactly comply with what Adam Smith had in mind.

Some Republicans apparently still aren’t satisfied with the 2012 field.

Like the rest of us, financial analysts across the globe are trying to figure out what the U.S. debt downgrade means.

By insisting on perfection in the debt ceiling debate, the Tea Party has made itself irrelevant to the process.

Charles Krauthammer claims we are in the midst of a great debate. I am not so sure.

Should the state be able to take your kid away if he gets too fat?

A space shuttle lifted off for the last time on Friday, and some people seem to think its the beginning of the end of America.

Do people who take advantage of tax breaks get a “government benefit”?

Usually, Defendants plead guilty for perfectly rational reasons.

The first Appeals Court decision on the Affordable Care Act was a victory for the government.

Bachmann’s views on the Founders and slavery are more significant than simply a question of how to classify John Quincy Adams.

The Senate Republican leader is running a shrewd political game. But what’s good for the GOP is bad for America.

A former opponent of same-sex marriage admits he was wrong.

If someone had given me ten guesses as to the biggest electricity hog in my house, I’d have never guessed it: The set-top box that houses my DirecTV signal and DVR.

Tim Pawlenty’s new fiscal plan isn’t very grounded in reality.