Outside the Beltway

Are these four men our last, best hope for a deal that will end the shutdown and avoid breaching the debt ceiling?

To borrow a phrase from Stephen Colbert, if you want to understand how Congress works, you better know a District.

With just hours to go, the Republicans on Capitol Hill seem prepared to take a big political risk.

An absolutely ridiculous criminal case out of West Virginia.

Set backs for Pennsylvania in its effort to reverse the NCAA sanctions against Penn State, and a new lawsuit from the Paterno family. The Sandusky story returns.

The sequestration cuts are two months old, and it seems pretty clear that the claims of doom we heard before they went into effect were heavily exaggerated.

Southerners lie about their weight–but not as much as those lyin’ Yankees.

Rand Paul’s filibuster has made him a darling among conservatives but it may not last.

The Hagel confirmation, like Obama’s election, was big news to some avid news consumers.

For the moment, Republicans appear to be blocking Chuck Hagel’s nomination to be Secretary of Defense but they don’t seem to know why they’re doing it.

Chuck Hagel will be confirmed, but the campaign against him tells us much about the current state of Republican foreign policy

My latest for The National Interest, “Ignoring the Hagel Hearing Farce,” has posted.

Some proposed reforms just need to be ignored.

In “Veterans and Senate Buddies, Until Another War Split Them,” Elisabeth Bumiller profiles the relationship between Chuck Hagel and John McCain:

Last January 1, some of us made a series of predictions. Here’s how we did.

New York Jets quarterback Greg McElroy was experiencing post-concussion syndrome but hid it from the team for days.

While no official announcements have been made, President Obama’s second term national security team appears to be taking shape.

Democrats are approaching an “Electoral College lock.” Republicans are trying to pick it.

Pennsylvania Republicans want to do the right thing for the wrong reason.

The GOP’s hopes of taking over the Senate in 2012 have all but slipped away, but there is another option.

OTB bloggers give their best guesses on the House and Senate races.

The arguments in favor of major changes in the way we elect our President are unpersuasive.

National numbers can overstate regional preferences.

It’s looking less likely that the GOP will be able to gain control of the Senate.

Over two days of speakers, not a single Republican has mentioned the Tea Party.

The GOP is set to approve rules changes that will impact the 2016 primaries, and beyond. They’re a good start.