Outside the Beltway

Americans were once largely united in their opinions about Israel and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. That’s not the case anymore.

Getting to a DACA deal isn’t going to be easy.

It’s been seven years since Congress eliminated earmarking, and what we’ve seen has provided good evidence for the argument that it should never have been eliminated.

The deal that led to the end of the Federal Government shutdown isn’t sitting well with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

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.

President Trump called on Senate Republicans to eliminate the legislative filibuster to resolve the government shutdown. That’s not going to happen.

It’s Day Two of the Federal Government shutdown and there are few signs of a quick resolution.

The government is shut down and Washington is playing the usual blame game. In reality, there’s plenty of blame to go around, and one of the guilty parties is the American people.

Both #TrumpShutdown and #SchumerShutdown put the blame in the wrong place.

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

With less than two days to go, the prospects for Congress finding a way to prevent a government shutdown aren’t looking good.

Two Republicans spoke out today against the President’s war on the news media, but don’t expect their colleagues to follow suit.

With only days to go, Congress seems unable to come up with either a funding deal for the Federal Government or a solution to the DACA issue.

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

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.

Controversial former Sheriff Joe Arpaio is running for Senate in Arizona.

After forty years in the Senate, Orrin Hatch announced that he will not seek re-election this year, thus opening the door for Mitt Romney to succeed him.

A Judge in New York has dismissed a lawsuit against the President based on two provisions of the Constitution that had never been ruled on before.

Your tax dollars at work.

Republicans passed their tax bill yesterday. What that means for the economy and the 2018 midterms is another question.

More good poll numbers for Democrats as we headed into 2018.

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.

Once again, tax “reform” won’t make it easier to prepare or file tax returns.

The final version of the tax bill appears to be on track for passage, but the devil is in the details.

With the results from Alabama. the GOP faces a hard road ahead defending its majority in the Senate.

House and Senate Republicans say they have reached agreement on a final tax bill, and Democrats are engaging in an effort to delay a vote in the Senate until Doug Jones can be seated.

As expected, Minnesota’s Governor has named his Lt. Governor to replace Al Franken in the Senate.

In what amounts to an electoral perfect storm, Democratic nominee Doug Jones pulled off a win last night in the Alabama Senate Election.

There are no good outcomes for the GOP in Alabama.

A top Republican political analyst is warning that a Roy Moore victory in Alabama could pose real problems for Republicans in 2018. If it does, they’ll have nobody to blame but themselves.

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

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a second case dealing with political Gerrymandering.

Another one bites the dust.

Roy Moore wishes he was back in the days of cotton when families were close and African-Americans were enslaved.

Al Franken’s Senate career reaches its inevitable end.

A seventh woman has come forward to accuse Senator Al Franken of having groped her as calls mount from his Democratic colleagues for him to resign.

The longest-serving member of the House has retired amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

The current temporary spending measure reached by Congress in September expires on Friday, and Republicans haven’t come up with a solution yet.

As I’ve said before, the Republican Party in the Trump Era has become the party of Trumpaloons, sycophants, sellouts, and cowards.

The Senate passed a tax cut bill last night, but it leaves a lot to be desired.

For a guy who considers the Russia investigation “Fake News,” President Trump sure is doing a lot to try to stop it.

Senator Al Franken faces new charges of sexually inappropriate conduct on the same day that House Democrats are beginning to pressure one of their members to resign.

With time running out in the year, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that the Senate GOP will be able to meet its deadlines on passing a tax reform bill.

More troubles for Minnesota Senator Al Franken.

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.