Outside the Beltway

With Congress coming back Monday, the prospective vote counts are decidedly against authorizing military force against Syria.

Not surprisingly, Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle are lining up behind the President in the debate over Syria.

Some thoughts on reform.

Ted Cruz is either being incredibly cynical as he deludes his fellow Republicans, or he’s living in a fantasy world.

A top Republican Senator blasts the plan by some of his colleagues to “defund” Obamacare.

Some interesting taking of sides is already taking place in the GOP Senate race in Wyoming.

Once again, the threat of the “nuclear option” appears to have had less megatonnage than some expected and others hoped.

The Senate may be headed for an historic confrontation today if an 11th hour deal isn’t reached.

Low voter priorities and the natural tendency of the media to move on to the next big story meant that gun control was not going to be a top political issue for long.

Texas has become the latest state to attempt to restrict abortion rights, and North Carolina isn’t far behind.

Harry Reid is supposedly making another run at filibuster reform.

Liberal leaders want Ruth Bader Ginsburg to retire so President Obama can appoint her successor. She wants to hang around another decade.

The Texas Legislature is putting up its controversial abortion bill again, but don’t expect things do end the way they did last week.

There seem to be some signs that defense hawks in the GOP are concerned about Rand Paul’s growing popularity in the party.

A thirteen hour filibuster by Wendy Davis ran out the clock on a special session of the Texas legislature, apparently defeating an abortion bill that passed 19-10 after time expired.

Denied her chance at being Secretary of State, Susan Rice will be moving to a position that is arguably just as important in shaping American foreign policy.

President Obama threw down a gauntlet today in the form of a trio of Judicial nominations.

The Boston Marathon bomber must be tried in a court of law.

The filibuster is now so commonplace that it’s baked into the expectations.

The prospects for gun control appear to be dimming.

The GOP’s decision to filibuster the Senate Gun Control Bill doesn’t make a lot of political sense.

A Federal Judge has stepped into a Culture War minefield, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong.

The Republican field for 2016 is more wide open than any we’ve seen in a long time.

90 percent of Americans support background checks for gun purchases. They are unlikely to be enacted into law.

The Judicial Confirmation process needs to be fixed.

The D.C. Circuit now has four vacancies out of eleven seats.

The Come On Baby Light My Fire Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Rand Paul’s filibuster has made him a darling among conservatives but it may not last.

Rand Paul’s questions about the nation’s drone war were only the beginning.

Rand Paul’s filibuster is one that all American’s should thank him for that.

Mr. Paul Goes To Washington.

A bit of musing on parties, elections, and governance,

The Hagel confirmation, like Obama’s election, was big news to some avid news consumers.