Outside the Beltway

Chris Christie has had a very good month, and it’s ending with him with a strong lead among potential Republican candidates for 2016.

The Generic Congressional Ballot has shifted again, but how long will this trend last?

The GOP seems to be shifting strategy on the Affordable Care Act.

Are we headed for another Federal Government shutdown, or will Congress actually do its job this time?

The trends in President Obama’s approval numbers are not moving in the direction he ought to want them to go.

The Junior Senator from Kentucky does some re-writing of history.

The Tiger Rag Edition Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Congressional Democrats are not very pleased with the White House right now.

With just over two weeks today, rumors are starting to float out that the efforts to fix the Federal Exchange website may not be done in time.

Once again, pretty much everybody hates Congress. However, it’s unclear if that will matter come Election Day.

When it comes to the unfolding conflict inside the GOP, Mitch McConnell seems to have fired an opening shot.

Do prayers opening legislative sessions violate the First Amendment? The Supreme Court is set to decide that issue.

A better than expected jobs report in October, but one that comes with a few caveats.

Accusations of blame are already being tossed around about why Republicans lost in Virginia, and they mirror a broader debate in the Republican Party nationally.

A good initial GDP report for the 3rd Quarter, but hardly something to write home about.

Republicans are contending that the nearly won the Virginia Governor’s race by emphasizing Obamacare in the closing weeks, but the evidence supporting that contention is far from clear.

The race for Virginia Governor turned out to be much closer than many predicted, but that should not be a surprise.

87.18% of the caucus is elected from safe to very safe districts and, therefore, the only real fear that they might have for their jobs would be at the primary stage.

A majority of Americans now disapprove of President Obama’s performance and a whopping 70 percent think the country is moving in the wrong direction.

There’s still a week to go in Virginia’s Governor’s race, but it’s clear that this race is effectively over.

The latest revelations about National Security Agency surveillance outside the United States have caused quite an uproar overseas.

With debate season over, it’s looking less and less likely that Virginia Republicans will be able to hold back the Democrats on November 5th.

Several conservative groups have jumped on the bandwagon of what appears to be a controversial Mississippi politician.

Nothing to write home about in the September Jobs Report.

My latest for The National Interest, “The Military and the Shutdown: Assessing the Damage,” is out.

Polling looks bleak for the GOP right now, but it’s unclear what that will mean a year from now.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has endorsed “none of the above” for governor of Virginia.

Will the GOP learn the right lessons from the just-concluded showdown? That remains to be seen.

Immigration reform may be the next big battle on Capitol Hill, but it’s going to be far different from the one that just concluded.

Ted Cruz isn’t ruling out a reprise of his foolish, quixotic, crusade.

Absent an unlikely major change, it looks like the Democrats will win the Governor’s race in Virginia

John Boehner’s position as Speaker of the House seems quite secure.

Nearly two-thirds of House Republicans voted for default. They lost.

The GOP’s shutdown was about as pointless as a show about waiting for a table in a Chinese restaurant.

A plan finally starting to come together?

The House wasted a day yesterday, now it’s crunch time.

Well, so much for that plan.

It looks like the House will be making its move before the Senate acts, but that may actually help resolve this faster.