Outside the Beltway

While the Trump Administration slowly tries to remake the Federal Judiciary, states are moving to pass radical new challenges to Roe v. Wade.

Support for gun control spiked in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting but it appears to be returning to more normal levels, and that’s bad news for gun control advocates.

Is everyone critical of President Trump by definition on the Left?

Instead of attending the White House Correspondents Association Dinner last night, Donald Trump took his show on the road where he continued his long-standing attacks on the press. Unfortunately, it’s a message that resonates with his supporters.

As expected, a Republican won the Special Election in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, but it’s not a win Republicans should really be celebrating.

Two months after the shooting in Parkland, Florida, support for gun control measures seems to be slipping.

Sean Hannity was Michael Cohen’s “secret client,” but it’s not clear that should matter to anyone.

President Trump’s job approval numbers remain historically low.

Hang on, the ride on the Trump Train is about to get a lot bumpier.

The Atlantic fired one of their few conservative voices for saying women who have abortions should be hanged. Was this beyond the pale?

Mississippi has passed a law that seems designed to directly challenge the underpinnings of Roe v. Wade.

A famous name enters the race to challenge Andrew Cuomo, but it’s unlikely she’ll have much of an impact.

Conor Lamb’s win in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District has set off an inevitable debate inside the Democratic Party about how to approach the upcoming midterm elections.

Two seemingly contradictory essays out today highlight the exhausting political conversation environment.

The students who survived last week’s mass shooting in Parkland, Florida are speaking out, and some on the right are responding by engaging in personal attacks and spreading conspiracy theories.

Will Joe Arpaio cause the GOP to lose an otherwise winnable Senate race?

Americans were once largely united in their opinions about Israel and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. That’s not the case anymore.

Getting to a DACA deal isn’t going to be easy.

The deal that led to the end of the Federal Government shutdown isn’t sitting well with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

While final votes remain to be taken, the Federal Government shutdown effectively ended this afternoon with an overwhelming bipartisan vote to reopen the government, combined with a commitment from Republicans to consider a DACA bill over the next three weeks. What happens next, though, is entirely uncertain.

President Trump has shut down the commission he established to investigate unsupported claims of “voter fraud” in the 2016 election.

Most Americans are unlikely to remember John Anderson, but he was a harbinger of things to come.

The Supreme Court held oral argument in a case that pits First Amendment rights against the rights of LGBT Americans.

Drip, Drip, Drip?

Democrats, Republicans, and Independents came out for an an election that can only been seen as a strong rebuke to President Trump and the Republican Party.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is making it clear she will not be leaving the court anytime soon.

Forget all the talk about a civil war in the Republican Party, the truth is that Republicans and conservatives have already surrendered to Trump and Bannon.

Stephen Paddock’s crime was clearly terrorizing, and will impact the lives of survivors, families, first responders in many ways for a long time. Based on the currently available evidence, though, the Las Vegas shooting was not “terrorism.”

Another poll shows the vast majority of Americans want Congress to act to help the people covered by DACA.

Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer poked fun at himself on last night’s Emmy broadcast, and the political pundits are all in pearl-clutching mode because of it.

Sarah Palin’s lawsuit against The New York Times suffers a significant setback.

Donald Trump has had harsher things to say about Rosie O’Donnell than he did about the people responsible for yesterday’s violence. That says something about him.

Justice Kennedy is telling prospective law clerks for the term that beings in October 2018 that he is considering retiring at the end of the term that begins this October.

Sarah Palin has filed a defamation suit against The New York Times alleging defamation in an Editorial linking her to the January 2011 shooting of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. From the facts alleged, she appears to have a good case.

The Supreme Court ruled today that states may not exclude church-run schools from an aid program with a wholly secular purpose.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear its first case on partisan gerrymandering in more than ten years, but opponents of the practice shouldn’t start celebrating just yet.

Congress is running out of time in its effort to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act.

Another provocative move by North Korea.

South Korea has elected a new President who breaks with his impeached predecessor in favoring dialogue with the North.

Democrats came close to picking up what has been a solidly Republican seat for nearly forty years but ended up falling short. Instead, we’ll have a runoff in two months.

Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party is set to follow through on a campaign promise.

More fireworks on the second day of the questioning of Neil Gorsuch, but his confirmation nonetheless seems assured.

The president’s skinny budget would eliminate most funding for science and the arts to fund more Defense spending.

Senate Democrats are divided on how to approach the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, making it likely that he’ll be confirmed.

Part One in a series of observations about health care and health insurance in light of the introduction of the House GOP’s health care plan.

Health care policy analysts seem united in their assessment of the House GOP’s replacement for the Affordable Care Act, and it’s overwhelmingly negative.

The Supreme Court has decided to return the case involving a transgender student’s right to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity to the Fourth Circuit rather than deciding it during this term.

A new head for the DNC at a time when the Democratic Party finds itself reeling and eager to take on Donald Trump.