Outside the Beltway

Columbus, Philadelphia, or New York City (well, Brooklyn really)?

The idea that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists is simply not historically accurate, so should we be reconsidering the policy of not negotiating with ISIS for the release of Western hostages?

Some of his party’s leaders want the president to save them.

The Keystone XL pipeline bill is dead until the next Senate. Mary Landrieu’s political career, on the other hand, is basically dead for the foreseeable future.

Outdated rules? It sure seems like it.

Much like the disease itself, Ebola panic seems to have disappeared as the midterm elections become ever more distant in the rear view mirror.

Same-sex marriage advanced in Kansas and South Carolina yesterday, and will soon be law in Montana, but the Supreme Court is what matters now,

Mike Huckabee seems to be making the moves necessary to run for President again, For reasons only he can understand.

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.

Voter Turnout was lower this year than in any midterm since the one held eleven months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

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.

Support for legalizing marijuana continues to grow slowly but surely.

Looking into uncontested and partially contest House districts from the 2014 cycle.

An unsurprising ruling from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that only seems to bring closer the day when same-sex marriage will be legal nationwide.

Another example of the silliness of the “trade deficit” concept.

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

The GOP added to its majority in the House, giving it the biggest majority it has had since Truman was President.

Big victories for advocates of marijuana legalization.

After spiking in the wake of the Newtown tragedy, gun control has faded back into obscurity as an issue voters care about significantly.

Time to look into the crystal ball.

Freedom of choice.

Just over one year ago, Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds was attacked by his son, revealing problems with our mental health system that have yet to be adequately addressed.

Would increasing the size of the House of Representatives be the cure for what ails Congress?

There’s nothing wrong with choosing not to vote.

Another setback for commercial space ventures, the second this week and this time with tragic consequences.

Two states and the nation’s capital could have legal marijuana after Tuesday’s elections.

Quietly, oil prices have been falling for months now. That’s potentially a very big deal.

A disappointing setback.

As usual, politicians and pundits are helping to create a climate of fear and concern about Ebola that is not justified by the facts.

New York State’s gun law takes rights away from nearly 35,000 people without any due process whatsoever.

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.

Democrats are starting to worry that low turnout could turn a good year for the GOP into a very good year.

Their places are being filled by students who pay higher tuition rates.

Two more states are added to the list, with another three likely not far behind.

A Federal Court has given legislators in Richmond a complicated job.

The Supreme Court has given the GOP a way out of a battle that they are going to lose anyway.

Attorneys for celebrities caught up in the leak of nude photographs are targeting Google.

While the battle for the Senate remains up in the air, the Republican majority in the House remains secure.

The security lapses at the Secret Service just continue to mount.

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

One of last members of President Obama’s original cabinet is stepping aside.

While it still seems unlikely that he’ll run, Mitt Romney does seem to be leaving the door open to a third run at the White House.

The courts have been striking them down at a dizzying pace since June.

The chattering class is chattering about the President’s vacation again. It really is quite tiresome.