Outside the Beltway

A new poll suggests that the American public does not support laws that give religious exemptions to businesses that want to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

A bill pending in Louisiana seems likely to become the next national focus in the debate between marriage equality and claims of ‘religious freedom.’

Kentucky has offered the Supreme Court a defense of its ban on same-sex marriage that seems laughable.

Another tone deaf action from leading Republicans.

As expected, Republicans have caved in the showdown over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

By refusing to stay the legalization of same-sex marriage in Alabama, the Supreme Court has sent the strongest signal yet that it is ready to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.

Scott Walker surged to the top of a new poll of Iowa Republicans, but Iowa is not a very good predictor of success in the race for the GOP nomination.

The Tea Party may be the most vocal wing of the GOP but most Republicans seems to favor candidates that aren’t quite so right wing.

December’s jobs growth numbers were very good, but the numbers below the headlines show that there’s still work to be done.

Just one day into the new Congress, the first confrontation is already set.

Shortly after the new year, we could know whether or not the Supreme Court will issue a definitive ruling on same-sex marriage by the end of June.

Despite opposition from both Republicans and Democrats, the compromise budget resolution passed narrowly last night, but not without some last minute drama

Some on the left are suggesting Democrats should write off the South for the foreseeable future, but that would be as foolish as Republicans assuming that their dominance in the region will last as long as Democratic dominance did in the century after the Civil War.

A crushing but expected defeat for a veteran Democrat.

Texas has joined with 16 other states in a lawsuit against the Obama Administration over the President’s executive action on immigration. At first glance, it doesn’t appear to have much legal merit.

It’s an old story. Republican leadership wants to avoid a government shutdown, but the hard core conservatives want a fight, this time over the President’s immigration action. We have a week to see how it unfolds.

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

Fresh off his third statewide win in four years, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker appears to be getting ready to run for President.

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.

Approval of the Keystone XL pipeline will likely pass the Senate today, and will eventually go forward despite an expected Presidential veto. But, Mary Landrieu’s political career is still dead.

Another round of election losses is leading Democrats to contemplate the direction they should take going forward.

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,

Mary Landrieu’s Keystone XL Hail Mary isn’t going to save her.

The GOP is dominant in the Southern United States, but it’s unlikely to last as long as Democratic dominance of the region did.

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

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

The party’s loss of Senate control has basically sealed Landrieu’s fate.

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.

Despite speculation, both Angus King and Joe Manchin will stay with the Democratic caucus. And that makes sense for both of them.

2014 was not supposed to be a wave election, but it clearly qualifies as one.

Time to look into the crystal ball.

Early numbers seem to suggest that it depends on which state you’re looking at.

The B.C.S. was far from perfect, and the College Football Playoff system will be, at best, only slightly better.

Things are looking good for the GOP to take over the Senate, but there are still several right races that could tip the balance one way or the other.

There’s at least a 50-50 chance we won’t know who controls the Senate until weeks after Election Day.

To a large degree, the Democratic Party’s supposed advantage among women voters appears to not exist this year.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has made an incredibly weak argument in favor of his state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

In the space of one week, we’ve gone from 19 states that recognize same-sex marriage to 29. Soon, it will be 35.

The death of the Tea Party is greatly exaggerated.

By failing to act, the Supreme Court has effectively legalized same-sex marriage in eleven more states.

Does the seriousness of a crime vary depending on the gender of the parties involved?

Combining politics, an incessantly sensationalist news cycle, and a virus that scares a lot of people can’t end well.

The idea that the N.F.L. “doesn’t pay taxes” is largely false.