Outside the Beltway

The political party formed by French President Emmanuel Macron just about a year ago scored big wins in yesterday’s first round of legislative elections.

A night of carnage and depravity in the United Kingdom.

Even with the revelations of the last three weeks, impeaching the President is still largely a fantasy.

As usual, an attempt to explain congressional behavior brings us back to the issue of our basic institutions. The way we elect congress matters.

An assessment of the 45th President’s first 100 days.

One month in, some Trump supporters are starting to wonder if he will actually deliver on what he promised.

While vigilance is called for, America will survive Donald Trump just as it has survived everything else we’ve faced since the nation’s founding.

In the end, there was no other logical choice.

A Federal Judge has dismissed a lawsuit that tried to make an end-run around the Senate and put Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court.

On Tuesday night the Establishment won and won yuge. (From new OTB contributor, Michael Bailey)

Reports of the demise of the Democratic Party have been greatly exaggerated.

Initial reports for the third quarter show strong economic growth during the summer;

With twenty-one days to go until Election Day, things are looking very good for Hillary Clinton.

One of the last survivors of Israel’s founding generation has passed away.

Gary Johnson is doing better than any third-party candidate in twenty years, but that doesn’t mean he’s likely to get an invitation to the upcoming Presidential debates.

The nature of US parties means that Trump more or less is the GOP at the moment, and hence the GOP will do nothing about Trump.

Big losses for proponents of Voter ID laws in two swing states.

The second night of the Democratic Convention seemed much calmer than the first, as the Clinton campaign moves forward toward the biggest speech of Hillary Clinton’s life.

A look at the state of the race before the two party conventions begin.

Marco Rubio changes his mind, and drops the first hint that he’s already thinking about the Presidential race in 2020 or 2024.

Libertarian Party Presidential nominee Gary Johnson is doing quite well in the polls, when pollsters bother to include him.

The cartoonist and student of human psychology is fascinated by the con artist who would be president.

An historic achievement.

An increasing number of Republican politicians are finding reasons to skip the Republican National Convention.

With two former Republican governors running under its banner, is there such a thing as a “Libertarian Party”?

For the second election cycle in a row, and after a contentious floor fight, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is the Libertarian Party’s nominee for President.

With Republicans in Trump-induced disarray, Libertarians are meeting to pick their nominee and the hope that 2016 could be the year their party finally gets the attention it has craved for four decades.

Even before the 2016 convention, Republicans are talking about possible rules changes to stop another Trump-like candidate in 2020 or beyond.

There are many aspects of the way delegates to the party convention are chosen that is “undemocratic,” but it’s unclear why this is a problem.

A treasure trove of documents from a law firm in Panama could prove problematic for a large group of international leaders.

February’s Jobs Report was relatively positive, but there are still shadows hovering over the economy as we head further into the year.

Ronald Reagan famously claimed, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.” I’m going through the process in reverse.

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions became the latest prominent Republican to endorse Donald Trump, but there are a lot more Republicans who are starting to panic over what Trump could do to their party.

With one surprise endorsement, Donald Trump stole the post-debate news cycle from Marco Rubio.

Bizarrely, the Marco Rubio campaign seems to be telling donors that their candidate may have to hope for a brokered convention to win the GOP nomination.

Reports of discrepancies in the counting of ballots in the Democratic Caucus in Iowa reveal yet again why the caucus process is outdated and ought to be abandoned.

Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio have won the endorsement of the Des Moines Register, but it’s unclear how much this will help their respective campaigns.

We’re in another Presidential election cycle so it must be time to speculate about Michael Bloomberg again.

Americans don’t trust their government or each other. There’s no reason to hope it’ll get better.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had some praise for Donald Trump of all people.

Donald Trump’s plan to exclude Muslims from the United States is provoking condemnation, and confusion, around the world.

Europe’s anti-immigrant, xenophobic far right scored major victories in France yesterday.

Blaming political opponents for criminal acts they clearly didn’t commit or advocate isn’t a political argument, it’s demagoguery.

The election of an anti-austerity government in Portugal is raising some concerns.

The news that at least some of the men who were involved in the terrorist attacks in Paris were among the refugees who have arrived in Europe since the summer is likely to complicate an already complicated situation.

As Ben Carson rises in the polls, it’s worth noting his many examples of having what can only be called a very odd relationship with truth and the basic facts of history.

Jim Webb’s campaign for the Democratic nomination has been largely forgettable, so now he’s apparently threatening to run as an Independent.

A political earthquake north of the border.

Trump remains in the lead, but he has been steadily falling over the month of September. (And this triggers, as these things do, musings about institutions and our party system).