Outside the Beltway

The Last Dance Edition OTB Caption Contest^TM is now over.

Paul Ryan’s admission that immigration reform will not happen as long as Barack Obama is President simply reflects the reality of immigration politics in Congress.

With only a handful of opposition, Paul Ryan was easily elected the 62nd Speaker of the House.

Yesterday, Paul Ryan spoke out against the procedure under which the new budget deal was negotiated. Today, he announced that he’ll vote for it anyway.

Paul Ryan is blasting the process that led to the new budget deal between the GOP and the White House, but one suspects he’s secretly quite pleased with the fact that it makes his job-to-be a lot easier.

Congress and the White House have reached a tentative deal on the budget and debt ceiling that promises to make Paul Ryan’s initial months as Speaker a lot easier.

A new poll shows that the Tea Party movement is more unpopular than it has ever been before, even among Republicans and conservatives.

The Department of Justice has informed Congress that its investigation has found no basis for criminal charges arising out of the targeting of conservative organizations by IRS officials evaluating applications for tax-exempt status.

With the voting now seemingly a mere formality, the question becomes what kind of Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will become.

With the top conservative caucus in Congress acquiescing to his candidacy, Paul Ryan is largely certain to become the next Speaker of the House.

Paul Ryan has never really wanted to be Speaker Of The House, but he’s take the job if House Republicans meet the conditions he’s set out.

A pair of new polls confirms that Republican hopes that Donald Trump would fade are failing to come true.

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.

Paul Ryan has yet to say if he will run for Speaker of the House, but that hasn’t stopped the opposition on the hard right from forming already.

Paul Ryan is getting pressure from all sides to get into the race for Speaker Of The House.

Another political earthquake in Washington as Kevin McCarthy drops out of the race for Speaker, and the House GOP doesn’t seem to know which way to go.

Big news out of Washington, D.C.

The latest effort by conservative Republicans to oust John Boehner appears to be coming to an unsurprising end.

The gas tax was last raised in 1993.

Jeb Bush is leading the latest poll of the 2016 Republican race and Ted Cruz has surged since he entered the race, but the race is just beginning.

Some are criticizing the President for not going to Paris for yesterday’s rally.

Several Tea Party backed Members of Congress claim to be challenging John Boehner in tomorrow’s vote for Speaker. They are, of course, delusional.

The former Florida Governor announced that he’s taking the first step towards running for president in 2016.

The numbers don’t lie, Mitt Romney remains popular among Republican voters.

Scott Walker argues that Governors tend to make the best Presidents. He’s largely correct, but he’s not the only Republican who fits that bill.

It’s way too early, folks.

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

The fact that a candidate like Mike Huckabee could win the Iowa Caucuses is the reason to end the Iowa Caucuses.

Republicans in the House seem determined to make life difficult for whomever wins the GOP nomination in 2016

If Hillary Clinton is going to have a serious challenge in 2016, the person who will do that has yet to emerge.

Emil Henry makes “The Case for Mitt Romney in 2016.”

Who do the Democrats have to take Joe Biden’s place?

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

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next week in an important First Amendment case.

As Sarah Palin and the Tea Party turn on Paul Ryan, they are making apparent their own lack of relevance in the political process.

The votes are in. And the outcome is meaningless.

Big news out of the House of Representatives

A certain wealthy man with good hair is doing very well in a meaningless poll.

Huckabee resurgent? A new poll makes the case, but it’s far too early to say.

Chief Justice Roberts is sounding the alarm over deep cuts to the public defender program.

Ted Cruz continues to act as if he hasn’t learned his lessons from the shutdown debacle

Time to watch a bit of true American exceptionalism in action.