Outside the Beltway

Two Republicans who broke with their party to support hearings for Judge Merrick Garland have changed their minds and gotten back in line with the Senate GOP Caucus.

Another Republican Senator has broken ranks and called for hearings on the nomination of Merrick Garland, as another poll shows most Americans support hearings as well.

Bernie Sanders won two of the three Democratic contests last night, but he fell further behind in the delegate count any way and isn’t very far from being mathematically eliminated.

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz split the wins on ‘Super Saturday,’ while Marco Rubio and John Kasich continue to struggle for relevance in the 2016 race.

They haven’t gotten much attention, but there are five contests today as the 2016 nomination process continues to move forward.

Donald Trump canceled his speech at CPAC, but it’s unlikely to harm his campaign at all.

It seems increasingly apparent that the only way to stop Donald Trump now is by trying to force a contested convention. It also seems clear that such a plan probably wouldn’t succeed.

As expected, Hillary Clinton won big last night while Bernie Sanders largely floundered, thus going further toward making Clinton’s victory inevitable.

If reports today are accurate, one of the great N.F.L. careers will come to an end this week.

There’s little doubt that Hillary Clinton will win today’s South Carolina Primary, the only question is how big a win she’s likely to score.

With the Democratic race headed into territory where Hillary Clinton is heavily favored, Bernie Sanders may finally be coming to realize that he can’t possibly win the Democratic nomination.

The President has another plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. It’s as likely to be well-received on Capitol Hill as all of his other previous plans on this issue.

The reclusive author of one of the greatest American novels ever written has died at the age of 89.

St. Louis will lose its second NFL team in 28 years as the Rams go home to LA.

The economy is booming. Except where it’s not.

Marco Rubio has been getting a lot of love lately from both conservatives and so-called ‘establishment’ Republicans, but his seemingly meager ground game in early states is raising doubts about his campaign.

A Dallas man was kicked off a flight home from New York City because he had unknowingly cut off a flight crew member while going through a revolving door. This seems like a case of discretion gone way too far.

Chris Christie has gotten the endorsement of the biggest newspaper in New Hampshire, but it’s not clear that this will have any impact on the race.

Paradoxically, the children of affluent parents are less happy than those of the poor.

It’s Election Day in Louisiana again, and voters have the same crappy choices they usually end up with.

Syrian refugees have quickly become political footballs in the United States in the wake of the Paris attacks, and it’s become an exceedingly shameful display of pandering and fearmongering by a group of largely Republican politicians.

While it did draw 14 million viewers, last night’s CNBC debate had the smallest audience of any Presidential debate so far. That was probably a good thing for CNBC considering how bad the debate was.

A new poll shows that the Tea Party movement is more unpopular than it has ever been before, even among Republicans and conservatives.

Two new Iowa polls show Ben Carson passing Donald Trump in the Hawkeye State, but that’s not necessarily good news for Republicans.

Paul Ryan has never really wanted to be Speaker Of The House, but he’s take the job if House Republicans meet the conditions he’s set out.

Ben Carson will spend most of October on a book tour rather than campaigning for President. Further proof that he is not a serious candidate despite his standing in the polls.

Rand Paul’s flailing Presidential campaign seems to be raising concerns about his Senate seat among some Republicans.

Another political earthquake in Washington as Kevin McCarthy drops out of the race for Speaker, and the House GOP doesn’t seem to know which way to go.

September’s Jobs Report was disappointing to say the least, and calls into question the Federal Reserve’s apparent plan to raise interest rates in the near future.

Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis says she won’t interfere in the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Some House Republicans are trying to delay the vote on the Iran Nuclear Deal with an argument that has no merit whatsoever.

The 2016 election will be fought on a very small battlefield, and right now the makeup of that battlefield heavily favors the Democrats.

Rowan County, Kentucky Clerk Kimberly Davis was found in contempt of court and jailed for her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

The Supreme Court has denied a Kentucky Clerk’s request to stay a ruling requiring her to comply with the law and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Polling in three battleground states shows Hillary Clinton slightly trailing three top Republicans, but it means far less than you might think.

Taxes on wine, beer, and spirits vary wildly from state-to-state and even within each state.

When you’re being paid $65,000 to speak for less than an hour, you’re pretty much the poster child for privilege.

The people who continue to claim that the Confederate Flag is about anything other than hatred, racism, and a nation that celebrated slavery are lying to you and to themselves.

The head of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has resigned in the wake of criminal charges for covering up sexual abuse of children.

Kansas Republicans are threatening to cut off funding for the entire state judicial system if the state’s Supreme Court strikes down a law the legislature likes.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has been charged criminally for its role in covering up sexual abuse of children by Priests.

The largely conservative state of Nebraska seems to be on the verge of repealing its law authorizing capital punishment.

If a new campaign succeeds, Harriet Tubman could replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.

A series of mini-scandals point to the conflicts of interest around the Clintons.

A sad, complicated story.

Alec MacGillis argues for Slate that “Veterans Should Pay Taxes Like Everyone Else.” I agree!