Outside the Beltway

With Congress set to come back from its recess, attention is once again turning to the race for Speaker and one Paul Ryan, Congressman from Wisconsin.

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

The Iran nuclear deal will probably survive it’s test in Congress in the end, but Chuck Schumer just made the Administration’s job a little more difficult.

Jason Kottke points me to Stan Carey’s summary of Jack Grieve’s study of regional variations in swearing patterns across the United States.

The NYT paints the longshot senator as a happy warrior trying to win the White House by doing it his way.

Political reality shows us that the shootings in Charleston are not going to have any appreciable impact on the likelihood of any type of gun control law passing anywhere outside of the bluest of the blue states.

Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is continuing his absurd and dangerous war on the Supreme Court.

The final episode airs tonight. How will Matt Weiner will wrap it up?

Senate Republicans have done more harm to the goal of stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons than they have done good.

Now that they control all of Congress, some Republicans are suddenly deciding that the filibuster should be repealed.

The House voted to repeal the PPACA for the 56th time, but it’s clear that this vote will end up being a pointless as all the others.

The debate over whether kids need to be vaccinated against communicable diseases baffles me.

As expected, the Senate passed the so-called “Cromnibus,” but not before a self-aggrandizing maneuver by Ted Cruz ended up being exploited by Democrats to pass outstanding nominations.

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.

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.

Much like the disease itself, Ebola panic seems to have disappeared as the midterm elections become ever more distant in the rear view mirror.

After the 2010 elections, several newly Republican state legislatures flirted with the idea of changing the way their state allocates Electoral Votes. The outcome of last weeks elections raises the possibility that this could happen again.

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

Support for legalizing marijuana continues to grow slowly but surely.

Good news that ought to quiet people’s concerns significantly, on the Ebola front.

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

The Republican wave extended even to Governor’s races that, in any other year, they should have lost.

Big victories for advocates of marijuana legalization.

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

Time to look into the crystal ball.

A Maine Judge has largely rejected the efforts of the State of Maine to restrict the movements of Kaci Hickcox

We may have our first legal challenge to an Ebola quarantine order by tomorrow

Mandatory quarantines are a massive violation of personal liberty. We ought to be careful in how, when, and why we impose them and who they are directed toward.

After an avalanche of negative commentary, the Governors of New York and New Jersey have modified their policy regarding quarantining people returning from west Africa.

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

As usual, politicians and pundits are helping to create a climate of fear and concern about Ebola that is not justified by the facts.

For the ninth time since 1974, the next Governor of Maine will likely be elected with less than 50% of the vote.

Rich guys are backing organizations that are taking over traditional party functions. Is that a problem?

While the battle for the Senate remains up in the air, the Republican majority in the House remains secure.

Third-party candidates in several states could end up having a big say in the battle for control of the Senate.

A number of factors unique to 2014 make it likely that control of the Senate could be up in the air for months after Election Day.

A political earthquake in the Sunflower State that could have a big impact on the battle for control of the Senate.

The GOP has a good chance of taking the Senate in 2014, but it will be by a narrow margin.

The South and Southwest have a much higher military enlistment rate than the Northeast.

Signs continue to suggest that a GOP Senate takeover is likely.