Outside the Beltway

More bad news for the Tea Party.

Congressman Walter Jones beat back a primary challenge from a former Bush aide who attacked him over his foreign policy views.

A Tea Party battle in the Cornhusker State

From the beginning, the Tea Party has shown itself to be just plain bad at picking candidates. This year, they finally seem to be on the verge of paying for it in the GOP primaries

It might not be pretty.

The Mason-Dixon Line says it starts in Maryland, but that no longer seems to be the case.

A legal setback for Voter ID laws in Wisconsin.

The Democrats have a big advantage in the Electoral College, at least for now.

It’s a bit too early for Republicans to be celebrating that Senate majority that so many people are predicting.

Cliven Bundy still has his defenders among the hardcore right, but many people have joined Kentucky’s junior Senator in throwing Cliven Bundy under the bus

The Affirmative Action debate is too divisive and largely misses the point.

New York has joined nine other states and the District of Columbia to vote to for an Electoral College bypass.

Voter ID supporters are pointing to a report from the North Carolina Board of Elections as proof of ongoing Voter Fraud. But, while long on facts, the report has yet to reach any such conclusions.

Middle East peace talks are apparently in such bad shape that the U.S. is thinking of releasing Jonathan Pollard as an incentive to Israel.

A pattern continues.

After national attention, a North Carolina school has rescinded its ban on a 9-year-old boy’s wearing of a “girl’s” backpack.

Thanks to favorable polling numbers and candidate selection, winning the Senate may very well be in the GOP’s grasp.

A rather impressive recovery from a career that was mostly dead in 2007.

Another victory for marriage equality. This time from the state that gave us the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on interracial marriage.

Mitch McConnell’s hopes to become Senate Majority Leader could hinge on what happens in his own state and in Georgia.

The House GOP leadership’s principles are a good start, but it’s unclear if they can make it past the anti “amnesty” crowd that seems to dominate the GOP.

Former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie is challenging incumbent Senator Mark Warner for his Senate seat.

From Florida, a small victory for Fourth Amendment rights.

Watch your language in Wilson County, North Carolina.

The year that will soon ended will go down in history as the year that the same-sex marriage debate changed forever.

A 17th state legalizes gay marriage. There’s no turning back.

Some recent political science on the subject.

Time to start talking about lame ducks?

The 7 seats most likely to switch parties are held by Democrats.

Imagine all these people talking on the cellphones during a long flight, or even a short one.

The FDA is declaring war on trans fats. That’s a bad idea on many levels.

When it comes to the unfolding conflict inside the GOP, Mitch McConnell seems to have fired an opening shot.

The state where the same-sex marriage battle began is just days away from legalizing same-sex marriage.

“If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it.” Well, not really.

Several conservative groups have jumped on the bandwagon of what appears to be a controversial Mississippi politician.

Will the GOP learn the right lessons from the just-concluded showdown? That remains to be seen.

The GOP’s approval numbers have fallen like a stone, but it’s unclear whether this will matter in 2014.

(And a Postscript on Recent Discussion of the South)

One of the dumber aspects of the current shutdown repeats itself.