Outside the Beltway

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal enters the Presidential race today, but it’s hard to see how he even manages to become a plausible candidate.

Pope Francis’s new encyclical isn’t exactly being received positively by American conservatives, because they seem to be missing the point.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court let stand a ruling striking down North Carolina’s mandatory ultrasound law.

One more on this topic.

A new poll shows that Americans have moved to the left on a wide variety of social issues.

In a new poll, a majority of Americans identify as “pro-choice,” but a deeper look at the numbers reveals that abortion politics remains as complicated as ever.

Voters in Ireland have overwhelmingly approved a referendum legalizing same-sex marriage.

As expected, the Republican-controlled House passed a bill that would ban most abortions after twenty weeks. It also happens to be completely unconstitutional and has no chance of actually becoming law.

House Republicans are set to vote on a bill banning abortion in almost all cases after twenty weeks. What they can’t do is explain where the Constitution gives Congress the power to do this.

Ben Carson is running for President.

Even for political junkies, the thrill seems to be gone.

Ted Cruz and Steve King think the Court should be prevented from hearing any case involving same-sex marriage. Because they know they’re losing.

Hillary Clinton’s political and personal baggage is likely to be a bigger problem for her than whomever her Republican opponent ends up being.

The confirmation of a new Attorney General has been held up nearly six months for what amounts to no legitimate reason.

Ben Carson will be entering the race for President next month, but don’t pretend for a minute that he’s a serious candidate.

After nearly 20 years in office, Harry Reid announced early today that he would not seek reelection in 2016.

Ben Carson is inching closer to running for President, and he’s continuing to pander to the most extreme elements of the Republican Party.

For some reason, Republicans want to change filibuster rules even though it’s unclear that they’ll still hold the Senate after 2016.

The House was set to vote on a ban on abortion after 20 weeks that never would have become law today but they pulled the bill. Conservatives are annoyed, but it was smart politics in the long run.

The State Of The Union Address was more of the same, and the same will be true of Washington going forward.

The first popularly elected African-American Senator, and the first African-American Senator to serve since the end of Reconstruction ended, has passed away.

The Supreme Court is set to decide if the state can deny a license plate with the Confederate flag design because it is “offensive.”

A crushing but expected defeat for a veteran Democrat.

Fresh off his third statewide win in four years, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker appears to be getting ready to run for President.

Every member of the Supreme Court graduated from an Ivy League Law School. That kind of homogeneity is not healthy.

Another round of election losses is leading Democrats to contemplate the direction they should take going forward.

After the 2010 elections, several newly Republican state legislatures flirted with the idea of changing the way their state allocates Electoral Votes. The outcome of last weeks elections raises the possibility that this could happen again.

Vatican politics is older than American politics, and can be just as entertaining.

The GOP is dominant in the Southern United States, but it’s unlikely to last as long as Democratic dominance of the region did.

In addition to gains at the national level and in Governor’s races, the GOP also saw more gains in state legislatures around the country.

Tuesday’s Republican wave didn’t change the fundamentals.

Another setback for the radical fringe of the “pro-life” movement,

The Republican wave extended even to Governor’s races that, in any other year, they should have lost.

To a large degree, the Democratic Party’s supposed advantage among women voters appears to not exist this year.

The Roberts court has been very good on First Amendment issues, but it needs to address the First Amendment issue right outside its front windows.

Bill Scher examines “How Republicans Lost the Culture War.”

Mike Huckabee is threatening to leave the GOP if the party backs down on same-sex marriage. He’s bluffing.

Opponents of marriage equality clearly don’t like the idea of a “big tent” in the GOP on the issue.

Chief Justice Roberts lamented recently that an increasingly partisan confirmation process could mean that Justices who have contributed much to the Court would not be confirmed today. He’s right.

Two prominent Republican groups point out the blindingly obvious.

Tea Party backed candidates may have lost most of the GOP primary battles, but they’ve won the war for control of the Republican agenda.

Once something that generally benefited Republicans, social issues are now becoming a wedge issue for Democrats.

The Hobby Lobby decision could end up motivating women voters to turn out to vote against Republicans in the fall.