Outside the Beltway

A former Democratic state attorney general thinks Wisconsin’s Republican governor may have violated state ethics laws while on a prank phone call.

Wisconsin’s taxpayers are paying 100 percent of the cost of the benefits programs for state employees. But the benefits amount to a payment in kind.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker did not campaign on the union-busting package he’s proposing now.

Federal laws designed to protect unions add yet another wrinkle to the Wisconsin standoff.

Is Jon Stewart a useful idiot?

There are a lot of issues on the table, so to speak, in the WI situation. Here I try to entangle them a bit.

A new national poll suggests that moves to restrict the collective bargaining rights of public sector unions are not popular with the public at large:

Should public schoolteachers make more money than the people paying their salaries?

Of the 314 police and firefighter unions in Wisconsin, only four endorsed Scott Walker.

Contrary to some assertions, Wisconsin public servants are not better compensated than their private sector counterparts.

Why not include police, firefighters and state troopers in the ban on collective bargaining?

Either Andrew Breitbart controls the entire media complex or Crooks & Liars jumped the gun. “Figure it out.”

It’s time to end the ability of public sector labor unions to hold taxpayers hostage.

A commenter asks, “Why does Wisconsin have a quorum rule if not for situations like this?”

The primary job of the Federal Government today is to take money from Peter and give it to Paul.

Republicans won the right to govern Wisconsin. What does that mean for Democrats?

In the Middle East, protesters are marching for democracy. In the Midwest, they’re protesting against it.

Neither side is covering themselves in glory in the battle over the Badger State budget.

A county in the far southwest corner of Virginia is the latest battle ground in the ongoing battle over the separation of church and state.

The Pittsburg Steelers and the Green Bay Packers are the 2nd and 5th most popular teams in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys are number one and the St. Louis Rams bring up the rear at 32.

If you watched last night’s State Of The Union Address, you wouldn’t have had any idea just how serious a problem we’re facing.

A new study suggests college students aren’t learning the critical thinking skills they’re supposed to learn, but that isn’t necessary the fault of the university they’re attending.

The sitting RNC chairman is losing to a field of no-name candidates. Is he actually the favorite?

The National Football League’s decision to postpone last night’s Eagles-Vikings game due to weather is receiving a lot of criticism, but they made the right choice.

Geno Auriemma and his UConn Huskies should rightly be enormously proud of their accomplishments. But comparing them to John Wooden’s is embarrassing.

The archaic practice of calling one’s seniors by titles rather than their first name is actually quite useful.

Some DC based hipsters want to know why America doesn’t have good pubs like in London. It turns out, they’re everywhere.

The hunters in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and West Virginia alone would comprise the largest army in the world.

While Tim Pawlenty and John Thune get high marks from insiders, they have next to no shot at winning the 2012 Republican nomination for president.

They’ve won the elections, but Republicans still aren’t getting specific about exactly where they’d cut Federal spending.

The race between Jeb Hensarling and Michelle Bachmann for Chair of the House GOP Conference is a microcosm for a battle that is likely to take place within the GOP for the next two years.

During the just concluded election season, eleven self-funded candidates spent a total of $ 286 million trying to win elections. Only two of them actually won.

The enthusiasm for Tea Party candidates likely helped the House Republican wave. But it also likely cost the GOP four Senate seats that it would otherwise have won — and thus the majority.

Making it easier for people to vote doesn’t necessarily mean that more people will vote.

Being a political blogger during election season is getting to be rather infuriating, especially if all you want to do is check your email.